Apex Legends Mobile - Release Date, Pre-Registration, and Soft Launch Regions

In 2022, Apex Legends Mobile is going to be appearing on Android and iOS smartphones, rivalling other mobile battle royale titles like PUBG Mobile, New State: Mobile, Garena Free Fire, and Fortnite.

With regional testing having taken place in countries around South America, Africa, and Eastern Europe in 2021, a recent tweet has suggested that the game is nearing the final stages, with pre-registrations for a soft launch now live in some of those countries. Australia and New Zealand - typical soft-launch locations for mobile games - are included as well.

Looking for more on Apex Legends Mobile? Though the game hasn't even released yet, there's already a lot we do know about the title. Read up on our Apex Legends Mobile best weapons guide before plotting your course.

When Is the Apex Legends Mobile Release Date?

Originally set to launch in February, the Apex Legends Mobile release date is now set in stone as May 17, 2022.

What Are the Apex Legends Pre-Registration Rewards?

Currently sat at 12 million pre-registrations, Respawn has promised to give every player the Become Legendary holospray if the milestone is pushed to 15 million by launch. At 25 million pre-registrations, everyone will get the Sunfire Initiate epic skin for Pathfinder.

Where Can I Sign Up For Pre-Registration?

Apex Legends Mobile pre-registration is live around the world, but you won't find it on your Google Play or App Store pages just yet. iOS players need to pre-register here, whereas Android players are to pre-register here instead. Either way, you should still get a notice on your device when the game is ready to download.

With the exception of those based in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Russia and Belarus, you can now complete your pre-registration ahead of the games full launch in the near future.

A full release date is yet to be officially revealed, although we have been handed a further look at gameplay with the release of the pre-registration trailer, which you can view below.

What Are the Apex Legends Mobile Soft Launch Regions?

• Argentina
• Colombia
• Mexico
• Peru
• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Australia
• New Zealand

If you're currently situated in one of the above areas, you should be able to pre-register on both iOS and Android now. After that, the Apex Legends Mobile gates will open for testing on March 5 with a proper worldwide release coming sometime after that.

Can I Play Apex Legends Mobile on an Emulator or VPN?

It might be possible to use a mixture of VPNs and accounts make while using them to play Apex Legends Mobile from outside of the physical countries listed above.

Just using an Apex Legends Mobile APK isn't enough, however. This won't easily install on an emulator like BlueStacks, and installing it to a phone results in an error saying that it won't work purely because it wasn't downloaded through the Google Play Store - which you won't be able to do unless you spoof your location if you're outside of a supported region.

It's worth tinkering with if you're comfortable with setting up accounts through VPNs, but if you're at all concerned for your security or nervous about bans, just wait for the global release date.

Was There An Apex Legends Mobile Beta?

Much like the incoming soft launch, an Apex Legends Mobile closed beta was available in a handful of countries back in 2021 and limited to the Android platform. iOS support is still planned, but even the soft launch isn't likely to bring it. Looking for the best Legends to try out before the big day? Visit our Apex Legends Tier List page for every character ranked best to worst.

What Characters are in Apex Legends Mobile?

• Bloodhound
• Gibraltar
• Lifeline
• Wraith
• Bangalore
• Octane
• Mirage
• Pathfinder
• Caustic

When the game opens at the end of February, the Apex Legends Mobile character roster will include basically every character that launched with the original release a few years back. Post-launch characters are expected, but it's unclear whether they'll follow the game's original release cycle.

Is Apex Legends Mobile Cross-Play?

For those hoping that they could cross-play from their mobile devices with players on other platforms, this will not be available. Simply put, Apex Legends Mobile is a different game to the Apex Legends we see on console and PC, but it is very faithful to the game instead.

As you can imagine, mobile gameplay would not compare to console and PC gameplay, so pitting these players in a battle royale against each other would not be fair - especially without controller support.

Respawn Entertainment have already stated that they will not be implementing cross-play due to this reason. Of course, Respawn also said Apex Legends Mobile was a pipe dream shortly after the game released on PC, so it’s always possible this will change.

How Does Apex Legends Mobile Play?

With thanks to Reddit user alanarmando103, footage from the game - which you can view here - seems to show it being a near-perfect recreation of the core Apex Legends experience.

While Call of Duty Mobile has proven that FPS combat can work on mobile, Apex Legends Mobile is perhaps the first in the genre to have it as its main viewpoint. Games like PUBG Mobile include first-person modes, but they're largely ignored in favour of third-person viewpoints.

Does Apex Legends Mobile Have Controller Support?

Following recent gameplay leaks on social media, it's fair to assume the Apex Legends Mobile controller support is a thing.

Images show controller-style button prompts on the cluttered HUD, suggesting the game is taking an approach much like CoD Mobile in allowing mobile (or emulator) users to hook up a gamepad and play it like they would the console version.

That's all we know about Apex Legends Mobile so far, but we'll be sure to keep this space updated as we learn more. In the meantime, take a look at our Apex Legends Season 12 weapons tier list and how to play How to play as Ash, to tide you over.

This article was updated on May 11, 2022 by Joshua Brown. Past contributions have been made by Kelsey Raynor, Luke Hinton, Chris Trout, Ben Sledge, Gemma Le Conte, and Josh Broadwell.