Report: Ubisoft Creating a Battle Royale Game to Rival Apex Legends

Rumor has it that Ubisoft, the acclaimed French publisher, is crafting a new battle royale game aimed squarely at competing with Apex Legends.

According to Insider Gaming, this upcoming project—operating under the codename Scout—bears such a striking resemblance to Apex Legends that some of its early artwork actually served as a placeholder thumbnail. Intriguingly, there are whispers that its characters mirror those in Apex Legends. This game has been brewing for quite some time.

It seems Ubisoft sees an opportunity here. With Apex Legends reportedly experiencing a dip in player numbers, Ubisoft believes they might steal away some of that fanbase. According to a source, “The goal seems to be to take advantage of Apex’s decreasing player count and the belief among Ubisoft executives that there’s space for another hero-based battle royale in the market.”

Of course, this isn’t Ubisoft’s maiden voyage into the realm of free-to-play battle royales. You might remember Hyperscape, released in 2020, although it only lasted about 18 months before its shutdown. And more recently, Ubisoft decided to shelve XDefiant, another free-to-play shooter, by the close of 2024.

Interestingly, over at Respawn, there’s a new version of Apex Legends, said to be a 2.0 upgrade, which is expected to launch sometime after April 2026. This makes for an intriguing landscape in the battle royale arena as these companies jockey for position.