EA shuts down "Apex Legends" on Switch

The online shooter "Apex Legends" will become unplayable on the Nintendo Switch as EA discontinues support. Other platforms are not affected.

(Image: Electronic Arts)

at 10:23 am CET

2 min. read

By

Daniel Herbig

Nintendo Switch owners will soon no longer be able to play “Apex Legends”: EA is ending support for the online shooter on the Nintendo console on August 4th. After that, “Apex Legends” will be completely unplayable on the Switch, developer Respawn announced in an X post.

Other platforms are not affected and will continue to be supported. This includes the Nintendo Switch 2. Since “Apex Legends” is free-to-play and all microtransactions and achievements are tied to the account, EA will not compensate players for the shutdown. Purchased items can be used on all platforms in most cases, and purchased in-game currency will at least work on the Switch 2.

The X post from Respawn Entertainment does not explain why EA has decided to discontinue “Apex Legends” on the Switch. The move is unusual: While it is common for online game servers to be shut down, it is rare in the industry for a single platform to be specifically disabled. Nintendo has not discontinued support for the first Switch console.

Steam Deck also kicked out

Curiously, the Nintendo Switch is not the first “mobile console” to be blocked after the launch of “Apex Legends”: At the end of 2024, EA banned all Linux systems from the online shooter, which also affected Steam Deck owners. EA justified the step at the time with protection against cheaters, stating that Linux systems are an entry point for exploits.

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“The openness of the Linux operating system makes it attractive to cheaters and cheat developers,” EA explained the decision. According to EA, cheats are harder to detect on Linux, and internal data shows that the frequency of cheating on Linux necessitates a development effort that cannot be justified by the small number of legitimate Linux users.

Therefore, those who want to play “Apex Legends” on the go will need a Nintendo Switch 2 or a handheld PC with a Windows operating system in the future.