New Apex Legends Limited-Time Mode May Hint At Season 6 Start Date

Respawn is adding another limited-time mode to Apex Legends during Season 5: Fortune's Favor. Called Always Be Closing Evolved, the mode is scheduled to go live in Apex Legends on August 11 and stay until August 18.

The new mode is an evolution of Always Be Closing, one of the seven modes introduced in the Season 4: Assimilation limited-time event Grand Arcade Soiree. In Always Be Closing, the ring never stops shrinking, which encourages squads to keep moving as opposed to finding a safe spot to hole up. Always Be Closing Evolved is the same concept, but all players also start with a Mozambique shotgun and an Evo Shield.

Though Respawn has not confirmed the start date for Apex Legends Season 6, the release of Always Be Closing Evolved may point to the upcoming season beginning this month, as the release of this new mode mirrors Apex Legends' transition from Season 4 to Season 5.

In the past, the final day of a season's battle pass mirrored the final day of the season. This changed from Season 4 to Season 5, when Respawn extended Season 4 by one week and held the Battle Armor event--which added Evo Shields to the battle royale game. Originally, Season 5 was seemingly planned to end August 11 (when the battle pass is scheduled to conclude), but now the Always Be Closing Evolved mode is extending the season by a week.

It's no guarantee, of course, but if Respawn is holding to its new pattern then Apex Legends Season 6 will probably begin on August 18. We don't know all that much about Season 6 yet, other than that it "may be a little bit different" from Season 5 when it comes to storytelling. The appearance of construction signs on World's Edge may be hinting that Season 6 will see new map changes too.