Apex Legends: Shockwave introduces one big new feature

Dual-wielding is available for select weapons in the newest season of Apex Legends. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

What you need to know

Apex Legends: Shockwave is Season 22 of Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play battle royale game.
Apex Legends: Shockwave is bringing a new map called E-District, with a neon-soaked cyberpunk aesthetic.
This season introduces a new gameplay mechanic in the form of Revival, which automatically allows players to respawn until the end of the match, as long as they have a squadmate up.
Shockwave is also bringing akimbo pistols, letting players duel-wield weapons like the Mozambique.

Neon is back in style.

Apex Legends: Shockwave is the next big season for Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts' ongoing battle royale experience. In this season of Apex Legends, players will be exploring a new map called E-District.

This is a flashy, cyberpunk-themed map that world director Ed Agostini describes as a "beautiful neon playground" to explore. This map has more playable space than prior Apex Legends battlegrounds, with iconography that's inspired by Angel City from Titanfall.

You can check out the gameplay trailer for Apex Legends: Shockwave below.

Apex Legends: Shockwave Gameplay Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

Apex Legends: Shockwave introduces Akimbo and Revival

Top Xbox recommendations

Xbox Series X — (Image credit: Windows Central)

- Best Xbox headsets to get in 2024
- Best upcoming Xbox games
- Best gaming laptops in 2024
- Best Xbox controller deals
- Best Xbox hard drives
- Best Xbox SSDs

Another big addition in Shockwave is the inclusion of Akimbo P2020 pistols and Mozambiques, letting players dual-wield these guns for additional firepower in situations where precision isn't the most important factor.

Revival is another shake-up this season, streamlining the process by which players can hop back into a match. Now, as long as at least one teammate is up, players will automatically respawn and jump back in after a short amount of time, though this timer increases the longer the match goes on.

“Revival shuts off in the final rings, creating a sudden death feeling in the endgame,” explains associate director Josh Mohan. “Revival is about shaking up the core combat loop of Apex.”

The team is bringing a few more changes to shake up the flow of a match. LMGs now have a front-facing shield that can absorb 40 damage, making machine gun users more survivable in fights with players using an SMG. Finally, any opened bins will be reset and closed at roughly the midway point of a game. Each match will also have a handful of random rare Gold Bins with better loot, as well as one Mythic Bin that's marked for all players.

Apex Legends: Shockwave is kicking off on Aug. 6, 2024.

Apex Legends is currently available as a free-to-play game on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. It's one of the best Xbox games for anyone that enjoys first-person multiplayer combat.