Apex Legends Mobile's New Animated Short Reveals Fade's Past

One of Apex Legends Mobile's biggest draws is its mobile-exclusive legend, Fade, whose history could only be uncovered by collecting Fade Chips in the mobile game and piecing his past together. But today, all of that changed with the release of "Meet Fade," a Stories From The Outlands-style fully animated short detailing the new Legend's backstory.

Players were given the general gist of Fade's history via his in-game bio (which was later updated with more information), and by collecting Fade Chips, which revealed most of the details. But Respawn seems to understand the value in introducing new characters via animated shorts, especially for players who may not have completed the in-game quest to unlock Fade's backstory, or who didn't start playing Apex Mobile until after the event was over.

The short itself doesn't reveal too much new information, but it does give players a closer look at exactly how Fade's simulacrum suit heist went down--and how it went sideways. Fade (real name Ignacio Huamani), his father, and his brothers are all former mercenaries-turned-treasure-hunters. After tracking down a crashed IMC cargo ship containing a simulacrum suit, Ignacio immediately tries it on--much to his brother's dismay, as the suit they're stealing is meant to be sold to a client.

Moments later, the family is ambushed by mercenaries. Knowing they're doomed, Ignacio's father removes a curious-looking dog tag, throwing it to Fade's brother, Luis, and instructing the two brothers to run. Luis has to physically drag Ignacio out of the firefight as the soon-to-be legend screams "Papa!" in a heart-wrenching scene that is eerily similar to Loba's reaction to the sight of her father being murdered at the hands of Revenant.

Luis and Ignacio don't make it out of the crashed ship in time, and Luis leaps to take a bullet for Fade, dying in his brother's arms as the mercenaries close in. Following his brother's dying words, Fade makes a run for it, using the simulacrum suit to disappear safely into the void.

But unlike Wraith's Phase Tech, Fade's allows him to traverse both space and time. When he exits the void, the bodies of his family are gone, and all that remains is his father's dog tag. Unfortunately, the mercenaries who killed them are still lurking, knowing Fade would eventually return. He quickly dispatches all but one mercenary, demanding the man tell him who he takes orders from so he can hunt down the person who had his family killed. The mercenary declines, telling Ignacio he'd be better off handing over the suit, as the man who sent the mercs after Fade's family is "not the kind of guy you go looking for."

Fade disagrees, killing the final mercenary on the spot and declaring his intentions to find the man behind his family's murder by showing off his simulacrum suit in the Apex Games. There's no telling what will come next for Fade, but he's certainly going to attract the attention he desires--the Apex Games are broadcast throughout the entirety of the Outlands, and seeing that simulacrum suit in action is certainly going to raise some eyebrows.

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