X

Apex Legends' season 1 battle pass, new character Octane available now

You'll be able to get special skins and extra rewards.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou
2 min read
screen-shot-2019-03-18-at-1-33-55-pm

Apex Legends Battle Pass will be available tomorrow. 

EA

Season 1 of Apex Legends is out in the wild.  Electronic Arts , maker of the battle royale game Apex Legends, said its Battle Pass for Season 1: Wild Frontier is available now. 

The Battle Pass by itself costs 950 Apex Coins, the in-game currency, and the Battle Pass Bundle costs 2,800 Apex Coins. It costs about $1 for 100 coins. Both come with three special Battle Pass skins, while the bundle will unlock 25 levels in addition to the levels you've already reached, according to EA's page.

Lee Horn, lead product manager for EA-owned Apex developer Respawn Entertainment, published a blog post Monday explaining the philosophy behind Apex's first season, and what makes it different from the wildly-successful Battle Pass Fortnite has established.

"TL;DR Season 1 is about keeping it focused and allowing players to earn a lot of rewards at a great value (you even get the cost of the base Battle Pass back if you reach level 97)," Horn wrote. "We'll begin adding more and more innovations each season, as we evolve the Battle Pass."

And Horne's post confirms the release of the game's first new Legend, Octane, will come alongside the new season. Octane has long been rumored within the Apex Legends community, as his appearance had been data-mined weeks ago, with subsequent leaks piling up as time went on.

Apex Legends is a free-to-play game that applies similar rules as Fortnite , such as the last one standing wins. Though in Apex Legends, only squads are allowed and you can pick a character that suits your way of playing. The game has gained 50 million active players in the first month since its launch in February.

You can only buy the Battle Pass in the in-game store using Apex Coins. After you launch Apex Legends, go to the Battle Pass tab and purchase the Battle Pass from there. You can purchase Apex Coins in the store too. You will also keep your stuff after the season ends. 

First published on March 18, 11:40 a.m. PT.
Update, March 19: Adds that Battle Pass is available now. 

The 17 most anticipated video games of 2019

See all photos