Apex Legends' Fake Character Was Created Just To Mislead Dataminers

Before Revenant was introduced into Apex Legends in the game’s latest season, many players were convinced Forge would be the newest addition. That was by design, as Respawn intentionally misled dataminers to avoid any early leaks of its latest character.

Dataminers often scrounge around in a game’s files after updates, looking for changes and additions that hint at content to come. Resapwn design director Jason McCord knew this would be the case in the weeks before Revenant’s release, spoiling the surprise he and his team had been crafting since the game’s launch in February 2019. To avoid this, McCord created Forge–a means to introduce Revenant through in-game lore and misdirect dataminers.

“Honestly, it started as a fun way to misdirect dataminers who, at the time, felt like they had solved our next legend and had ruined our surprise,” McCord said in an interview with Dotesports. “We actually purposefully leaked fake concept art and details of Forge’s kit in patches, so there would be a bread crumb trail by the time we announced him. It’s pretty insane, really. I can’t think of any other game that has gone through such hijinks.”

McCord also shared that Revenant once looked like a robotic spider when crouching in-game, dislocating his shoulders and getting on all fours to scurry around in a horrific manner. But due to some issues with how this form interfered with one of its passive abilities and previous issues the team has had with hitboxes, it was ultimately cut from the game (perhaps graciously too).

Apex Legends is over a year old and experiencing a strong fourth season so far, with teases for new characters already appearing in its reveal trailer. If Respawn continue this trend of misdirection, anticipation for its new additions should be just as exciting to follow.