Ubisoft, the renowned French publisher, seems to be gearing up to shake up the battle royale scene with a new project aimed at competing with Apex Legends.
According to Insider Gaming, Ubisoft’s latest endeavor, internally named “Scout,” draws significant inspiration from Respawn and EA’s beloved game. In fact, early artwork for Scout apparently bore such a strong resemblance to Apex Legends that it could have been mistaken for it. Reports even suggest that the characters in Scout share uncanny similarities with those in Apex Legends, hinting at how serious Ubisoft is about establishing its footprint in this competitive genre.
It’s no secret that Ubisoft’s timing might be strategic. It appears they’re banking on siphoning some players from Apex Legends, a game that publisher Electronic Arts admits has experienced a financial dip. As one insider put it, “The aim seems to be to leverage Apex’s dwindling player numbers, with Ubisoft’s top ranks believing there’s an opening in the market for a new hero-based battle royale.”
This isn’t Ubisoft’s first attempt at entering the free-to-play battle royale market. Back in 2020, they launched Hyperscape, which unfortunately didn’t last long, shutting down after only 18 months. Interestingly, this news about Scout surfaces just as Ubisoft wraps up 2024 by discontinuing its free-to-play shooter XDefiant.
Meanwhile, fans of Apex Legends can look forward to a revamped version, Apex Legends 2.0, which is slated for release sometime after April 2026. With such developments on the horizon, it’s clear that the battle royale genre is far from running out of steam.