New Apex Legends Leak Hints At Future Inclusion Of NPCs

In this day and age, games developers face an uphill struggle in attempting to keep future plans secret, especially when said titles have a global following itching for even the smallest morsel of new information. Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends found fame overnight and has since become the most-watched title on Twitch – even surpassing Epic Games’ hugely popular Fortnite – so it’s hardly surprising that the rumor mill refuses to stop. One of the latest discoveries to be made comes by way of Twitter user RealApexLeaks, who dove headfirst into the battle royale game’s files following last week’s update to see what they could dig up.

As luck would have it, their investigation yielded some interesting results, including several files referencing the possible addition of NPC characters. You can peruse the supporting evidence for yourselves below.

Should the above be taken as concrete confirmation that Respawn intends to introduce more AI-controlled characters into the game? Not at all, but the discovery does provide some potential insight into the studio’s plans for Apex Legends going forward. Having teased the inclusion of a PvE (player vs. enemy) mode in the past, there’s every chance that these files could be part of the groundwork for such an addition.

An alternative train of thought leads to the conclusion that Respawn could be looking to overhaul the relatively barebones tutorial currently available in the live game, but this seems too elaborate for that eventuality. Whatever their actual purpose, Respawn has recently warned against reading too much into leaks such as these, so don’t be surprised if they end up being little more than defunct code.

In more verifiable Apex Legends news, we’re still awaiting the commencement of the shooter’s first Battle Pass, though a blunder on Respawn’s part earlier this week has already revealed what subscribers can expect to get for buying in.