Apex Legends closes out this season with five wild new modes

Pathfinder Apexlegends grapples away from an explosion
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Things are about to get weird on the butt-sliding battleground of Apex Legends, as five wild new War Games replace the game's unranked queue later this month.

Starting next Tuesday, the only way to play a regular, unmodified round of Apex Legends will be to jump into ranked. Casual play is being remixed with five new game modifiers, starting with Second Chance—die in this mode, and you'll respawn back in the sky a few seconds later, with all your gear and weapons intact.

Each mode will last a couple of days, and arrive with its own unique twist. Ultra Zones adds high loot, high risk bubbles that replenish HP and shields. Auto Banners removes the hassle of having to salvage your fallen teammates banners, Killing Time cuts down round time with each kill, and Armor Regen does exactly what it says on the tin.

War Games also comes with its own rewards track and a tidy handful of new cosmetics—including some ornate, antique armour sets for Wraith, Pathfinder, and Bloodhound. War Games runs from next Tuesday, April 14th through April 27th, by which point we should have learned a little more about Apex Legends' as-yet-unannounced next season.

Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.