Undoubtedly, Apex Legends is a F2P Battle Royale video game released without any prior notice overnight and has successfully achieved a milestone of 10 million users within a week. Nowadays, the craze of the Battle Royale genre is at its peak, and people are crazy when they come to play PUBG, Garena Free Fire, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Fortnite, and more. Similarly, each game has unique graphics, mechanics, and gameplay settings using different gaming engines. Likewise, people from worldwide are curious to know “What Engine does Apex Legends use?”
Apex Legends was developed using a modified version of the Source Engine, developed by Valve Corporation. The same game engine was earlier used for the development of Titanfall 2; however, for Apex Legends, the developers made lots of adjustments and modifications to run their game at its max while increasing the draw distance for offering the player fun-filled gameplay where they can navigate the massive map from a first-person viewpoint. Finding gaming engine details isn’t a problem for anyone, as two gaming engines are mentioned on Apex Legends’ Wikipedia page as follows:
- Source
- Unreal Engine 4 (Mobile)
Having said that, Apex Legends was built using the Source Engine for PC and Other Gaming Consoles, while for mobile devices, developers used Unreal Engine 4. Besides, you would be surprised to know that the developers of Apex Legends had developed Titanfall and its sequel, Titanfall 2, released in 2016. Both titles were published by Electronic Arts and acquired Respawn Entertainment in 2017.
What is a Game Engine?
Before finding “What Engine Does Apex Legends use,” you should know about the gaming engine and how it works. In actuality, a gaming engine is a software framework specially designed for developers to create video games, including support programs and libraries. The term Game Engine is almost the same as the Software Engine used in the industry; however, it refers to software using the framework for the construction of games that sometimes comes with a pack of tools and helpful features. Developers worldwide use gaming engines to build games for PC and Gaming Consoles like PS4, PS5, Xbox Box, and Nintendo Switch. Furthermore, the core functionality of the gaming engine includes a rendering engine for the following:
- 2D and 3D Graphics
- Physics Engine
- Collision Detective
- Sound
- Scripting
- Memory Management
- Localization
- Scene Graph
- Cinematics
What Engine Does Apex Legends Use?
I know you are curious about the Game Engine Apex Legends to use because the game graphics seem like a mixture of Borderlands and Titanfall, offering you realistic settings with cartoony effects. The way the developer represented their Apex was superb and seemed unique as all gaming consoles and PC are limited to 60 FPS min. The said frame rate is ideal for any fast-paced FPS (First-person Shooter) game. There’s no doubt that Apex Legends uses the Source Engine with some tweaks and configuration to make several improvements and make their game stand out in the tough competition of Battle Royale Genres.
Does it use Source Engine?
Apex Legends is built using the Source Engine for PC and Gaming Consoles; however, the game engine has been configured to make Apex Legends different from other games built on the same engine. Despite the age of Source Engine, Apex Legends runs smoothly to offer you a next-level gaming experience.
Does Apex Legends use Unreal Engine 4?
For gaming consoles and PC, Apex Legends uses Source Engine, while for Mobile, it has chosen the Unreal Engine 4. Almost 11 years ago, Infinity Ward took Online Multiplayer gaming to the next level with their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare release. Besides, Apex Legends is set in the same world as Titanfall 2, but it lacks a few aspects that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare had, the quality of actions introduced in Apex Legends is unmatchable.
Many developers are trying to match that level but haven’t succeeded yet. However, with several modifications and configurations in Source Engine, the developers have rolled out their title: Apex Legends. It contains an expansive map and several graphical features found in Titanfall 2.
Apex Legends is built on Titanfall’s Tech
The PC version of Apex Legends was built using Titanfall’s tech; therefore, their system requirements are very similar, and “Menus” are identical. During the development, several compromises were made by pushing Source Engine’s abilities beyond the limit.
How did the Titanfall 2 engine evolve for the development of Apex Legends?
As mentioned above, several tweaks and improvements have been made to evolve Titanfall 2’s tech. Developers replaced HBAO+ ambient with an SSAO variant during modifications, eliminating the anti-aliasing system. A Temporal Super Sampling AA was also used to get 60 FPS locks with dynamic resolution. The said system is responsible for offering fast visual feedback and lowering the input latency.
After getting modifications, Apex Legends seems compatible with PlayStation 4; however, Xbox One struggles to improve the mechanics, enhanced shadow cascades, and high-quality textures. Besides, the Volumetric lighting is good enough that you can aim for a headshot. Next, the DRS system is designed to give you a clear image quality close to the frame rate. Did you know? Apex Legends plays out at 60fps.
Lower Frame-Rates
It would help if you kept in mind that overall frame rates are slightly lower on gaming consoles, as there is more instability, especially with extended draw distance. The most affected gaming console is the Xbox One, as it works perfectly on the PlayStation 5. After that, you would be surprised to know that Apex Legends is more demanding than Titanfall; furthermore, at the max settings, RTX 2080 Ti can’t sustain the quality as it drops into the 50s in some areas.
