Apex Legends dev makes Team Death Match shorter, players rejoice

Apex Legends Catalyst
(Image credit: EA)

Respawn might've only just launched its Team Death Match mode in Apex Legends, but it's already getting some big changes.

Earlier this week, Apex Legends rolled out its Revelry update on Valentine's Day (no tie-in, sadly). The seasonal update included the much-anticipated Team Death Match mode, but Respawn has already made big changes to the mode, with the developer declaring in the tweet below that matches were simply too long.

Starting now, Team Death Match has been reduced from three rounds per match to just one. Having three bouts made matches "feel too long," Respawn writes in the tweet above, but with the removal of multiple rounds, teams will now need 50 kills instead of 30 to claim victory for the match.

This change has been met with pretty heavy praise from Apex Legends' fan base, which is a rare thing to come by. The most common response to the change is 'W', which can be interpreted by anyone who speaks internet as 'Win', and therefore a good thing.

Elsewhere, a Team Death Match will immediately end when one team completely leaves, and quitting players will be penalized like in Control. These changes, and just the general communication from Respawn, are being praised in the comments and quote tweet responses from players worldwide.

"Communication has been on point what a W," reads one response in yet-more internet speak. "Love how fast they work!!" writes one fan, while another adds that "the communication is on point [right it's and it’s making the game better "vRespawn's Respawn's clearly winning a lot of fans with their direct, rapid community responses.

Adding to the Ws for Respawn is a new lore tab for Apex Legends, which could well be a game-changer for live-service titles going forward. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

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