Update: A Daily Esports report points to a March 12 release date for the first Apex Legends Battle Pass, with the heavily rumoured Octane not only confirmed as real, but tipped to release “alongside the Battle Pass or just before it.”
Daily Esports also secured this better quality image of the rumoured Legend:
Original story:
Over the last 24 hours, new rumors and unconfirmed leaks about the next Apex Legends character have circulated from multiple sources, supporting prior rumors and even pointing, maybe, to an imminent release of a new character called Octane and/or the first season, which we’re expecting sometime in March. Although EA has not announced anything officially, let’s lay out the information we have so far.
Speculation about unreleased characters began weeks ago when dataminers uncovered a list of what appeared to be names of unreleased characters, spotting “Octane” among a list of others like “Crypto,” “Jericho,” “Rosie,” and “Prophet.” Strings uncovered from this data like “octane_stim_inject” and “octane_stim_release” suggested that Octane would be a character whose kit includes some kind of injection system, a trope not uncommon to games (and Batman villains) that seemed believable in Apex’s sci-fi setting.
Yesterday, a redditor named Beartoots shared an image that makes a strong visual connection with this description.
Neon tubing and a cylinder attached to the character’s hip in the image above suggest some kind of injection mechanism, while metal legs indicate that Octane, if this is indeed them, could be a cyborg.
The poster did not say whether or not they were themselves a tester of Apex Legends with access to a private version of the game. The only additional detail they offered was that the “Right image is from the ‘Deep Dive’ trailer when it shows the silhouettes of the next two Legends.” The watermark on the image, “childz_pl4y,” is associated with a private Instagram account with 32 posts.
The same day, another user on Reddit shared an image with the same watermark that added more detail. Although the text shown here is something that’s easier to doctor, the character image behind the information pane is not. This second image shows Octane’s abilities in Apex’s store menu (alongside, notably, a new tab for the first season.) They are as follows:
Swift Mend (Passive)
While not taking damage, Octane restores health over time.
Adrenaline Junkie (Tactical)
Move 30% faster for 6 seconds. Costs 10% health. Immune to slows while active.
Launch Pad (Ultimate)
Deployable jump pad that catapults users through the air.
It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a character focused on speed through self-inflicted damage in a videogame, although Octane’s passive would overlap somewhat with Lifeline’s tactical healing drone. A trampoline-type item would also be right at home in Apex, especially given the presence of such gadgets in Fortnite. The mention of immunity to “slows” from Adrenaline Junkie indicates to me that more stun and movement-inhibiting abilities are probably on the way in Apex.
Further evidence arrived after I published this article today: an actual photo of a photoshop-in-progress that shows a sketch of Octane in the style of the other Apex art we’ve seen. Take this with a grain of salt alongside everything else, but either this is a convincing fraud someone drew in response to the recent rumors, or the real deal. It wouldn’t be too strange for this kind of promotional art to make its way to third parties.
Earlier in February, another source identified a file that suggested that Octane, along with a Survival Playlist, would either be released or “previewed” during Apex’s eighth week. Next week (March 4) will be the start of Apex’s fifth week of availability, which casts doubt on the idea that Octane could be arriving imminently.
However, an offhand comment made by popular battle royale streamer Shroud yesterday suggests that Octane and a more major update to Apex Legends could come as soon as today.
“I’m excited for the update for this game. Just wait, if it comes out tomorrow, it might, who knows, they might surprise you. I have no idea, I don’t know anything, I have no knowledge, I’ve never played this game before. Ever,” Shroud says in the clip, while playing Apex. Is he being playful, trolling his audience, or intentionally teasing a surprise?
Normally I’d be very hesitant to take one Twitch streamer’s casual comment about a release as fact. But consider that EA made streamers a major part of its marketing plan for Apex, paying influencers like Dr Disrespect and Myth to tease the game’s launch with language like “Tomorrow you can expect to see a New AAA Battle Royale by @Respawn,” just ahead of its release on February 4. This strategy of seeding the information to build awareness and speculation played a role in Apex’s early success—why wouldn’t EA repeat this approach through one of the most-watched BR players in the world?
RUMOUR: Possible New Legends for #ApexLegends. I can’t confirm anything as of now. I’ll keep you updated with its credibility.Legend: OctaneAbility: Something called StimLegend: Wattson (sounds like a scientist)Ability: Tesla Trap#ApexLegendsBattleRoyale #BattleRoyale pic.twitter.com/e8vfvoPNURFebruary 17, 2019
For now, the timing of the next Apex Legends update is less certain than its content, which as of yesterday clearly points to Octane as one of the next legends. We know less about the second character who’s rumored to be arriving in the update, but an earlier leak last month identified a character named Wattson with a “Tesla Trap” ability. Perhaps Caustic will be getting some competition for the maddest scientist in Apex.