Apex Legends will cease its live service on Nintendo Switch on August 4. Learn more about the transferable in-game currency and game progress, and how players are receiving the news here.
Apex Legends Will Discontinue Switch Support
Nintendo Switch Players Have 6 Months Left to Play
Apex Legends will no longer be playable on Nintendo Switch starting August 4. On January 31, Electronic Arts (EA) posted on its website that Season 29 marks the hero shooter’s final era on the console. Nonetheless, they reassure Switch players that their progress is saved to their EA accounts and that game data can be transferred to Switch 2.
For the next six months, players on the Switch console can continue playing matches, purchasing in-game items and currency, and spending existing balances. After the scheduled shutdown, all previously owned content—Apex Coins, cosmetics, and purchases—will be carried over to Switch 2.
However, in some regions (such as Japan), players must use the digital currency within 180 days due to local laws. Moreover, while Apex Legends is still playable on other platforms, progress from Switch can only be carried over to Switch 2.
EA stated that Nintendo Switch 2 aligns more with their priorities, as it provides a significantly better game experience for Apex Legends than Switch. "As we continue to evolve Apex Legends' content and technical foundation, our goal is to deliver a high quality experience," their post reads.
Fans Amicable to Platform Evolution
Players have been, more or less, supportive of the decision. On social media, they acknowledged the need for Apex Legends to step up to newer consoles as it expands in terms of performance and content. Online users pointed out the shutdown’s advantages, citing not just "Nintendo's business market," but also the difficulty of maintaining live-service games on older, lower-spec platforms.
In line with that, a Reddit user noted that other always-online, cross-platform games—such as Fortnite, Overwatch 2, and Dead by Daylight—might receive the same news in the coming months or years. Like Apex Legends, the three abovementioned titles are also currently available on Switch.
Mobile Support Shut Down in 2023; Other Platforms Going Strong
Apex Legends has previously ended live support for another platform. On May 1, 2023, it was rendered unplayable on mobile (Android and iOS) on account of falling "short of that bar for quality, quantity, and cadence," regardless of high player numbers.
On other platforms, Apex Legends has remained popular over the years. According to SteamDB, the hero shooter reached an all-time peak of over 620,000 concurrent Steam players in 2023, and currently ranks #8 in daily active users. Regarding its enduring player count, online users remarked that the gameplay, movement, characters, and maps remain highly enjoyable more than half a decade after release.
Apex Legends is a free-to-play, battle royale hero shooter available on Switch, Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, check out our article below.
Source:
Official Twitter/X post about Apex Legends ending its Switch support
Reddit: ‘Apex Legends will no longer be playable on the Nintendo Switch system’
Apex Legends Mobile to shut down starting May
Official Twitter/X post about Apex Legends reaching 100 million players
Apex Legends Steam Charts
Reddit: ‘Apex at such a consistently high player counts’
