Apex Legends Gets 7 New Modes Next Week, Plus Legendary Skins

Respawn has released a new trailer for the next event in Apex Legends, called Grand Soirée Arcade. The event begins on January 14 and will continue through to January 28. Given Season 3: Meltdown ends on February 3, Grand Soirée Arcade will likely be the final limited-time event for the season. [Update: The Season 4 update is now live alongside a battle pass.]

Unlike previous events, which have traditionally only added one new mode, Grand Soirée Arcade adds seven. Each mode will go live one at a time, with each available for two days before the game transitions to the next one. You can see all seven modes in action in the video embedded below.

The first mode is called Gold Rush Duos, which sees squads of two drop onto World's Edge and the only weapons you can loot are gold, legendary tier items (L-STAR, Kraber, and Mastiff as well as fully outfitted versions of Flatline, EVA-8, Triple Take, G7 Scout, and Charge Rifle). After that is Live Die Live, which automatically respawns all fallen players on their still-living squadmates whenever the ring closes. This will be followed by Third-Person Mode, which forces you to play through the match entirely in third-person as opposed to first-person.

The fourth mode looks to be the most stressful of the lot. Called Always Be Closing, the mode will see the ring constantly closing in, meaning your squad will have to always be on the move or risk suffering massive damage. The all shotguns and sniper rifles Armed And Dangerous mode returns after that--though this time on World's Edge instead of Kings Canyon. The sixth mode is Kings Canyon After Dark, which puts your squad into Apex Legends' original map--only this time it's at night, as seen in Fight or Fright's Shadowfall mode. Dummies Big Day, the final mode, is an odd one, transforming all characters into colorful dummy-looking 3D renders that make it more difficult to discern who is who.

Grand Soirée Arcade adds several cool-looking legendary skins for the playable characters too--most of which seem to have a steampunk or the roaring 1920s look to them. Based on the trailer, Pathfinder, Bangalore, Bloodhound, Octane, Mirage, Wattson, Caustic, and Crypto are getting new skins. The cosmetics will rotate throughout the store during the event, so if one catches your fancy it will be better to buy it sooner rather than later. There are also new Peacekeeper, R-301, and Havoc skins that can be unlocked by completing event challenges