Apex Legends, Respawn Entertainment’s high-octane Battle Royale, is a month into its seventh season. While Season 7 brought many new additions, including a map, Legend, and vehicle, it also removedApex Legends’original map from the rotation.
Set on the planet Solace, Kings Canyon launched withApex Legendsback in early 2019. The ruined landscape borrowed many assets from theTitanfallseries, from whichApexis a spin-off. As the first map inRespawn’s Battle Royale, it’s seen a lot of changes over the past two years. While Respawn has hinted that Kings Canyon is due to return at some point, no-one knows exactly when.
Birthplace of the Apex Games
As well as beingimportant toApex Legends’players, Kings Canyon is also a core part of the game’s lore. The IMC soldiers stationed at Kin’s Canyon spent their free time competing in gladiator-esque combat in an arena they nicknamed “The Thunderdome.” This is the earliest known predecessor of the Apex Games, the Outlands blood sport that is the core ofApex Legends’gameplay.
The Mercenary Syndicate, which organizes the games, chose Kings Canyon as their first ever arena. This continued uninterrupted until the events ofApex Legends’third Season, in which an EMP detonation caused the map to become overrun by hostile wildlife. The Legends were evacuated to newly-added map World’s Edge, and the Syndicate took the opportunity to add some areas to Kings Canyon before its permanent return in Season 5.
Construction in Progress
When Kings Canyon returned for good in Season 5 it was a very different map. However, in the competitive scene it’s been a long time since it was considered the equal ofApex Legend’sWorld’s Edge map. Many competitive players have complained that the balance and loot spawning on Kings Canyon is inferior. In particular, players highlighted the ease of movement across the map, which allowed skilled players to evade combat too easily.
These concerns were addressed back in October, just before Kings Canyon was removed from the rotation. Replying to a tweet about becoming “tilted” from pro-player Diegosaurs, Apex producer Josh Medina stated that the team had heard players' complaints, and they would be addressed. This makes it almost certain that when Kings Canyon does return, the originalApex Legends' map will once again have been given a major overhaul. Hopefully, Respawn Entertainment will use the experience it’s gained in producing theWorld’s Edge and Olympus mapsto bring their predecessor up to match the current meta.
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What’s the Timeframe?
While it’s clear that Respawn are planning to make some changes to Kings Canyon during its absence, what’s not clear is how long this will take. The last time the map was taken out of rotation, whenWorld’s Edge was added toApex Legends, it returned in the following season. However, this return wasn’t permanent, and the map wouldn’t truly be added into the rotation until Season 5, when it was much changed.
Therefore, it seems like a decent bet that Kings Canyon won’t be making a return in Season 7. While it’s possible that a section of the map, or its night-time variant, may reappear for a special event, Kings Canyon itself is going to be out of the rotation for a while. It’s even possible thatApex Legends’original map won’t be returning in Season 8. Respawn now have three maps to choose from when picking the rotation, including the new and shiny Olympus and the popular World’s Edge. With two maps now to carry the burden ofgivingApex Legends’players something new, it may be that Kings Canyon is set to spend a considerable time being reworked.
Apex Legendsis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with a Switch version in development.
