Newest Apex Legends Character, Ballistic, Revealed In Stories From The Outlands: Encore

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment released the latest episode in its Stories From The Outlands series today, finally unveiling Season 17's debut legend, Ballistic. Titled Encore, the animated short introduces players to August "Ballistic" Brinkman, a former champion of the Thunderdome. The Thunderdome Games were a bloodsport held on Kings Canyon, and served as a precursor to the Apex Games. There is, however, one major difference between the two competitions: When a competitor died in the Thunderdome, they stayed dead.

This is revealed to be a major reason why August eventually chose to retire--the new episode reveals that Brinkman's love for attention and in-game "peacocking" lead to the death of a member of his squad, and he swore the Games off for good. Well, almost for good. "Encore" depicts a possibly drunken, definitely depressed August watching an OTV newscast about his failed career, eventually smashing his drink into the television in a fit of rage. But things quickly change when the news story reveals that his son, Nathaniel, is now joining the games.

After suiting up in combat gear (and, evidently, getting a slick new haircut), August storms the facility where Syndicate leader and Silva Pharmaceuticals CEO Torres Silva is working, knocking out Syndicate security personnel left and right. Eventually, he drags a member of the security team into Silva's office, knocks him unconscious, and holds Torres (who goes by "Duardo") at gunpoint. August tells Torres that they're going to make a deal: August will join the Apex Games--something sure to raise their television ratings--on the condition that Silva kicks Nathaniel out of the Games entirely. Silva agrees and, interestingly, refers to August as an "old friend," suggesting the two have a history.

Later, Nathaniel can be seen on the phone, incensed that he's been kicked out of the Games due to a "technicality." Ballistic marches away from his home, smiling as he heads towards the Apex Games, before an end screen reveals the title of Season 17 ("Arsenal") along with the season's tagline: "Show your caliber."

Interestingly, the countdown to the episode premiere consisted of a commercial for Legentifax, a fictional medication patented by Silva Pharmaceuticals. Legentifax appears to be a sort of anti-aging medication made of prowler blood (among other questionable ingredients), and the episode implies that August is taking this medication--though it appears he may also be mixing it with alcohol.

The episode also reveals that the Arsenal launch trailer will debut later this week, going live on April 26 at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, and EA's official website lists Arsenal's launch date as May 9. But there's still plenty left to do in Season 16, with the new Veiled Collection Event set to launch tomorrow, April 25, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

Apex Legends is free to play on console and PC. A mobile version of the game, Apex Legends Mobile, is available to play on Android and iOS devices, but will be sunset on May 1.