Apex Legends Season 17: Arsenal is coming to an end, and true to their word, the developers at Respawn have detonated the long-awaited “lore bomb” they teased earlier this season with the release of a new anime series. unlike anything Apex Legends players have seen before. Titled ‘Kill Code: Part 1’, the four-minute animated short is the first of its kind in many ways and suggests that the game’s plot will be in the spotlight in the weeks to come. , while the second episode of Kill Code should be released two weeks after the first. Respawn seems to have big plans for the series and seems determined to use this new narrative avenue to make Apex’s story more cohesive. In a press release regarding the new series, Respawn revealed that Kill Code: Part 1 is the start of “a year-long storytelling journey in Apex Legends.”
Respawn’s animated videos usually come in three flavors: it’s a Stories From The Outlands episode, a fully voiced but non-animated short uploaded to Twitter, or a pre-season launch trailer showcasing new gameplay features, map additions, and legend abilities. But Kill Code isn’t categorized as an episode of Stories From The Outlands, nor is it part of the pre-season hype, like the season launch trailers typically posted on d’s YouTube channel. ‘Apex. Kill Code is something entirely new.
“Since its launch, the lore of Apex Legends has continued to evolve and expand from season to season, building a deep narrative told both in-game and out,” reads the release. Kill Code release from Respawn. “With dozens of engaging and cleverly crafted story videos, gameplay elements ranging from comic books, collectible lore crumbs, new story-driven hubs woven into every map, and in-game conversations between Teammates – each plays their own role in the expansion of Apex Legends Chronicles.
“Today’s release of Kill Code: Part 1 marks the start of a year-long narrative journey in Apex Legends. The miniseries will highlight an explosive story arc that will put players and audiences on the edge of their headquarters while waiting for the next episode and a breakthrough update to roll out to Apex Legends.”
Kill Code breaks the mold of Apex Legends in several ways. This is the very first animated short from Apex Legends to feature a sequel, and it’s possible this series won’t just be a two-part venture, but the start of a multi-part ongoing story arc. It’s also the first time players have had a good, lengthy look at how legends actually interact. Stories From The Outlands episodes typically focus on the past and backstory of a single legend, leaving players with little opportunity to see how the characters actually get along today. Season launch trailers sometimes show players what the Legends are up to in their spare time, but they only ever provide brief glimpses of life in the Legends’ word – not fully developed storylines involving multiple Legends.
The story of the new animation centers around Lifeline, Loba, and Mad Maggie, who are on a mission to unmask Octane’s grandfather, Duardo “Torres” Silva. After Lifeline and Loba break Maggie out of her Syndicate prison cell, she leads her fellow Legends to a massive Silva-affiliated warehouse filled with sleeping Specters – much like the massive Revenant Loba factory destroyed in the trailer for Season 5 launch. Once inside the warehouse, Loba is distracted by a flashing terminal monitor and wanders off screen. On the other side of the room, Lifeline concentrates on uploading data that will hopefully provide evidence of Duardo’s crimes, while Maggie entertains herself by using an inoperative Specter for knife throwing practice.
A successful hit causes the Spectre’s body to fall into the massive chasm beneath the warehouse, which then triggers the warehouse’s security systems. After mowing down the fully armed Security Specters with her Wrecking Ball ability (and nearly hitting Loba in the process), Maggie and Lifeline escape the facility just in time. Loba, however, continues to fight inside the warehouse, clearly motivated by her hatred of Specters rather than necessity.
Luckily for her, Lifeline’s trusty medical drone, DOC, saw this coming and preemptively removed Loba’s teleportation bracelet before the doors closed, allowing her to escape. But just when things seem calm, something enormous starts leaving dents on the warehouse door, clearly strong enough to eventually knock them over. Luckily, Loba has planned her outing well, and her girlfriend (and legend) Valkyrie quickly arrives to pick up the other legends (literally, in Loba’s case), bringing them back to safety. This moment serves as a nod to Valkyrie’s in-game ability to send her teammates flying through the air. Since Apex Games consists of three-person teams, only two “passengers” can ride Valkyrie’s jetpack, and it seems those rules apply even outside of the ring – so Loba has to be carried around while Maggie and Lifeline just hand over Valkyrie’s jetpack. .

It seems like a happy ending, but the episode ends with a cliffhanger and a few loose ends that need to be ironed out – the first being the Lifeline drive used to store the data she stole from Silva’s warehouse. As seen in the episode, Maggie’s knife-throwing stunt forces Lifeline to remove the drive early and make her escape before the data download is complete, meaning it’s likely the data is corrupted or incomplete. Still, Maggie is hopeful, hinting that Crypto might be able to access whatever data Lifeline managed to download.
The situation with Loba is much more worrying. After being distracted by the flashing terminal in the warehouse and walking away from the group, it seems her sticky fingers have struck again: As Valkyrie hovers in the sky with Loba in her arms, the thief can be seen teleport holding a small metallic object with a faint red glow that looks a lot like some sort of robotic eyeball. Given the warehouse’s similarity to the Revenant factory beneath Kings Canyon, it’s possible this item is tied to Loba’s quest to permanently kill the homicidal simulacrum known as the Revenant.
The good news is that the answers are on the horizon, and they are not far away. Players will likely learn more about the data on Lifeline’s drive and the strange object in Loba’s hands when Kill Code: Part 2 airs July 31 at 8:00 a.m. PT / 11:00 a.m. ET.
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