Apex Legends Mobile’s Debut Legend Gets A Lore Revamp And A Surprising Reveal

In a recent Twitter post, David Bartle–Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends lore historian–gave fans an update on Fade, the first new character to hit Apex Legends Mobile. According to Bartle (better known by his Twitter handle, FrozenFroh), the character bio that appeared on launch day was not the final draft, and has since been updated. The revised biography now gives players more information on the masked legend’s dark past and future goals.

The update adds a bit more context to the events surrounding Fade’s acquisition of his simulacrum suit, his family history, and his goals in the Apex Games. Fade’s new bio also reveals that he had several brothers who, along with his former-mercenary father, perished when another group of mercenaries discovered that Fade and his family had tracked down the simulacrum suit.

While it’s not clear exactly what kind of work Fade’s father did in his mercenary days, the Apex Games are overseen by the Mercenary Syndicate, a group of skilled criminals hired by the IMC during the Frontier War, so it’s possible Fade’s father was once a part of this group. The Syndicate has grown significantly since the war and controls a group of planets collectively referred to as Syndicate Space, which includes all of the locations used as maps in both Apex Legends Mobile and the console/PC version of the game. The most recent planet to join Syndicate Space is Salvo, home to Fuse and Mad Maggie–and Salvonians aren’t particularly pleased with The Syndicate’s aggressive reappropriation of their land of their once-lawless planet.

The current commissioner of the Apex Games, Kuben Blisk, was the primary antagonist of Titanfall 2’s single-player campaign and the leader of the cabal of Syndicate mercs that players had to face-off with near the end of the campaign. Ash, a simulacrum who runs the Arenas (and has now joined the Games herself), was also a part of Blisk’s mercenary group during the war, though she appeared to distance herself from the criminal society after being defeated by Jack Cooper at the end of Titanfall 2. The Syndicate has recently experienced a hostile takeover orchestrated by Octane’s grandfather, Torres Silva, and his plans for the mercenary organization are not yet clear, but he certainly appears to be up to no good. Fade’s stated mission is revenge for the murder of his family, though his thoughts on Torres are unknown, as Torres Silva has only been at the Syndicate’s helm for a few weeks, but players can uncover the complete details of Fade’s dark past by completing the Unleash Punishment event in Apex Legends Mobile.

Bartle also answered a few questions from curious players about Fade’s role in the Apex universe. After Respawn confirmed that Apex Legends Mobile is canon, some players expressed confusion, as Apex Legends Mobile is missing over half of the playable characters from the original version of the game, yet they all exist in the same universe (and presumably, all share the same dropship). When asked how exactly Fade fits into the Games, Bartle responded:

“Mobile will tell the story of Fade, another contestant within the Apex Games (which is bigger than just our 21 Legends). But that will be self-contained. You don’t need to follow it if you don’t want to.”

This comes as a bit of a surprise to some players, who assumed the tight-knit group of legends in the console/PC version were the only competitors in the Apex Games, given the fact that those legends have never alluded to unseen competitors in their many in-game dialogue exchanges. While Respawn hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of Fade eventually joining the Games on console and PC one day, the Titanfall 2 developer does not have any current plans to add Fade to the roster of PC/console legends. Players who want to get to know the newest legend will have to pick up the mobile game and piece his story together themselves by completing challenges and collecting Fade Chips, a daily collectible that functions similarly to the treasure packs many players have been hunting down since Season 5. But in the meantime, you can check out everything we know about Fade so far, or take a look at our guide on completing the Unleash Punishment event to learn more about this mysterious new legend and how to unlock his backstory.

Apex Legends Mobile is now available for download on Android and iOS.