'HELL YEAH—!!!'
"Damn, that's slick as hell!"
'Is that a phase shift?!'
Jada Brook was losing it.
"Is this Anderson's bracelet tech or Ash's phase jump?"
'Mystery solved: it's Anderson and Ash's kid! (lol)'
'Ghost marriage vibes?!'
'Yo, chill with the wild theories.'
'Bring a character back, not a zombie!'
"Looks like a battle royale setup."
"Three-person squad royale?"
"Seems like it, but everyone's got skills. Not sure yet, let's see…"
As the chat went wild, the white-eyed girl in the trailer—Wraith—snapped out of her flashback and shrugged.
Pointing at the glowing golden silo:
"This is mine."
"Yo, hold up," Mirage teased, nudging her with a grin.
"If it wasn't for me, you'd still be eatin' dirt…"
Flashback—five minutes ago.
Under a neon-lit factory sign, a tall Black woman with curly hair and a mercenary vibe aimed a rifle at the wounded Wraith:
"Your gun's busted, or is it you?"
She was about to pull the trigger!
Then!
Mirage's cocky voice rang out: "Guess who's here, lady?"
The merc spun around.
Mirage charged, waving a massive revolver!
She smirked: "Lookin' to die…"
BANG!
Her bullet nailed Mirage's forehead!
But—poof—he vanished into a puff of light!
The merc's eyes widened, but before she could pivot—
CRACK!
Mirage's revolver tapped her skull from the side!
"Sorry, ma'am, did I make you dizzy?" he quipped, all swagger.
BANG!!!
"HOLY—!!!" the chat screamed.
'That's the Phantom Pilot decoy from the Titanfall trailer!'
'This skill's too damn cool!'
"So everyone in the APEX Invitational is a Pilot?!"
"Nah, these Legends seem to have one or two Pilot tricks, but they ain't full-blown Pilots."
"So… a Pilot audition?"
"Yo, this is Sam Harper's gig. Remember his crew?"
"Oh snap! We were right! This is Sam's Top Hunter tryout!"
"Battle royale makes sense now! Sam's straight-up breedin' killers!"
"Damn, I'm rootin' for the bad guys now! (lol)"
"Hahaha…"
The chat was hyped!
In the trailer, Wraith and Mirage's bickering got cut off by Pathfinder:
"Guys, with my 10-kill streak, I think this loot's mine (ω)."
Wraith and Mirage spun, staring at him, baffled:
"You…" "You're full of it…"
Flashback!
In a massive canyon, under a roaring waterfall!
Bullets rained down, pinning Wraith and Mirage against an enemy squad. Things looked grim!
Then—behind the enemy team, at the waterfall!
Pathfinder swung in on a grapple, bursting through the cascade!
His chest screen blazed with a wild, pissed-off emoji—ψ(*｀ー)ψ
RAT-A-TAT-TAT!
Gunfire erupted!
Pathfinder, like a robotic Rambo, soared through the air, heavy machine gun spitting fire, wiping the enemy squad in seconds!
"Game over! Thanks for playing!" he chirped.
Flashback over, Pathfinder raised his arm:
"High five?"
Uh…
Mirage glanced at Pathfinder, then Wraith.
The three locked eyes, then turned to the glowing silo.
They'd had each other's backs, each shining in their own way. No one would've made it here alone.
So, who gets the loot?
But!
Run… grenade…
A voice whispered in Wraith's head!
Her eyes narrowed, and a void portal snapped open behind her.
No hesitation—she leaned back and dove in!
As the portal closed, a grenade landed at Mirage and Pathfinder's feet!
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion rocked the cabin, smoke billowing, ripples spreading across the nearby lake!
Through the haze!
Another squad of three strutted in!
The leader, broad-shouldered and bulky in heavy armor, laughed: "Ha! Team Tiger wins again!"
A young girl with a submachine gun smirked: "Poor suckers."
On the right, the Crow Mask guy—'killed' by Pathfinder earlier—said: "They died with honor."
But!
As they stepped toward the loot!
Wraith, hidden in nearby bushes, raised a triple-barrel sniper rifle.
BANG!!!
The screen cut to black!!!
Back at the bar, the gray-haired, rugged old man spoke again:
To me, this is the ultimate game.
[Find your enemy, kill your enemy, become the enemy of more.]
They kill you, they're the best.
You kill them, you're better.
He yanked the dagger from the newspaper!
The camera followed it up—
[That's how the squad rolls…]
Chat held its breath!
They'd guessed who this old man was!
But seeing the truth hit different—pure hype!
Even ShuBro dropped her takeout, fists clenched, waiting for the reveal!
Snap!
He sheathed the dagger!
A weathered, fierce face filled the screen in a close-up!
It was him—Sam Harper, older, grizzled, boss of the Apex Hunters, founder of the APEX Invitational, the guy who handed out invites in Titanfall.
Sam downed his beer and raised his glass to the camera, like he was toasting every player:
[We win together, or we crash together, right?]
He reached into his jacket!
A familiar card flew at the screen, morphing into a blood-red flag with white text flapping in the wind.
APEX Legends
"OH MY GOD!!!" ShuBro leapt from her chair!
She grabbed her head, screaming like a banshee!
The stream exploded!
'HOLY—!'
"Sam, you old dog!!!"
"This trailer's freakin' lit!"
"My scalp's on fire!"
'HELL YEAH—'
"He gets it! Sam freakin' gets it!"
"I'm playing this, Dad! If I skip this after that trailer, am I even human?"
'Now you're the ultimate thief!'
"Man, old-man Sam almost had me in tears."
"I'm done, I'm numb, this is too much…"
Every player watching the trailer lost it!
That mix of Titanfall nostalgia and fresh APEX vibes sent their heads spinning.
The gaming world was in a frenzy!
…
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!"
"He's playin' us like a fiddle!"
"A Titanfall fan's dream!"
Meanwhile!
In Tate's Gaming Scoop's online meeting room!
Editor-in-chief Lucas Sterling was hollering!
Real talk: a guy at his level, with years in the game, shouldn't be this unhinged in a meeting.
But Sam Harper's knack for hyping players was just too good!
Lucas was buzzing, barely holding it together.
The other editors? They weren't shocked by his energy.
They'd seen the trailer too, and their screams matched his!
"Unreal! They went battle royale despite the market cooling off!"
"They're out to top themselves…"
"Or just own the next-gen somatosensory cabin market!"
"Facts. PUBG ruled the last-gen battle royale scene. APEX is gunning for this gen."
"Brutal. Makes Glory Games' Special Ops look like a clown show…"
"Haha, a quiet face-slap hurts the most."
"If APEX pops off, Radiant Studios is straight-up embarrassed."
"They couldn't beat WindyPeak last gen, thought they'd sneak a win this gen, but got crushed again."
"If APEX hits, WindyPeak's 'Battle Royale King' crown is locked in."
"Both gens of battle royale? That's legendary…"
"I say APEX is a lock. What's your take, Lucas?"
Me?
Lucas grinned:
"What's there to say? The writing's on the wall…"
"No other studio in the U.S. gaming scene dared drop a shooter same day as APEX."
"I shouldn't say it, but real talk: in this market, APEX could star Special Ops's cast and still win…"
Lucas, a seasoned vet, had the room nodding.
Maybe WindyPeak's track record was just too bright.
Or maybe Titanfall's name carried too much weight.
When APEX's release date dropped, the shooter market became a ghost town.
No rivals, just APEX owning the stage!
But!
Lucas switched gears:
"This time, Gus Harper's out to outdo himself."
"The trailer screams it—they've added 'skills' to battle royale."
"That's…"
He paused, smacking his lips, unsure.
"Innovation's dope, but will it land? Hard to say."
"When I saw the skills, my mind went to Smite from way back…"
Hiss—
The room froze.
Smite left a mark on gaming history.
First-person MOBA, mind-blowing at the time.
But the result? Crashed and burned fast.
APEX's setup felt similar.
What's its fate?
The editors sat quietly, brainstorming how to cover APEX.
The trailer was fire, and the FPS-plus-skills vibe seemed tight.
But it's just a trailer.
Smite's trailer was hype too!
Play as gods, first-person, unleash skills, dominate!
It was electric!
And then? Flopped.
"So, team," Lucas said.
"For this report, let's not go all-in. Don't overhype APEX just 'cause Titanfall was a banger."
"Wait for the game to drop, play it, then judge."
"'FPS plus skills' is a wild card."
"And their in-app purchase model? Still a mystery."
"WindyPeak says it's 'green,' 'player-first,' '100% fair.'"
"My imagination's limited, but I can't picture how in-app purchases stay 'absolutely fair.'"
"Best free-to-play model out there? League of Legends."
"Skins add some stats, but every skin, rare or not, adds the same."
An editor piped up:
"Lucas, what if WindyPeak drops 'stat-boosting' entirely?"
"Pure cosmetics, like Left 4 Dead's workshop?"
Hiss—
The room gasped.
Even Lucas hesitated.
"That's… tough to call."
"If Nebula Games made APEX, no way."
"But WindyPeak…"
Lucas couldn't commit.
Their style—Gus daring to dream, Zoey daring to do—was wild.
Maybe they'd pull off a 'cosmetics-only, no stats' move!
But then, with tons of free-to-play players, how'd they make bank?
"On that note…" Lucas shook his head, grinning.
"I got no clue. Even I can't guess."
Clap!
"Alright, team, trailer's done, we've talked it out."
"Pros, cons, questions—plenty to chew on."
"Write your APEX reports, throw in your takes and doubts."
"WindyPeak's gotta deliver the game."
"But grabbing the hottest topic in gaming? That's on us!"
"Pick up your pens!"
"Let's roll!"
Buzz—
With Lucas's order, Tate's Gaming Scoop went into overdrive, cranking out APEX analyses to ride the hype wave.
Other gaming outlets jumped in too.
Nobody wanted to miss the boat.
APEX speculation and breakdowns flooded the gaming world!