Apex Legends came out in 2019, and its hardware demands are still about where they were back then: it runs even on a computer you bought ten years ago. The more important question than the spec table, though, is what you can actually launch the game on today. The version for the original Nintendo Switch has ended, the mobile version was shut down, and crossplay works one way on PC and another on consoles. We’ll go through the requirements, the current list of platforms, and what to do when the game runs worse than it should on paper.
Minimum and recommended PC requirements
These are the specs EA lists directly on the game’s store page:
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | 64-bit Windows 10 | 64-bit Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-6300 or AMD FX-4350 | Ryzen 5 or equivalent performance |
| Memory | 6 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 or AMD Radeon HD 7790 (2 GB) | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 |
| DirectX | version 12 | version 12 |
| Storage | 75 GB | 75 GB |
| Network | broadband internet | broadband internet |
Two things in that table are worth pointing out. First, 75 GB is a lot for a game that looks fairly modest at first glance, and on top of that the download grows by roughly 3.8 GB for every localized language. Second, the gap between minimum and recommended is much bigger for the processor than for the graphics card. Apex is a game where frames per second matter, and a weaker CPU will hold you back sooner than an older GPU.
Why the game runs on older hardware
Apex Legends is built on the engine Respawn inherited from Titanfall, which is undemanding by design. The game is free and aims for the widest possible player base, so Respawn never went down the “turn down the details, but buy a new card” route. In practice, a build around a GTX 1060 or RX 580 handles low settings at Full HD without trouble, and stable frame rates matter more to you than nicer shadows. In a battle royale, smoothness is what decides fights.
On PC the game runs kernel-level Easy Anti-Cheat, which installs together with the game and has to be removed manually after you uninstall it.
Where you can play Apex Legends today
The current list of platforms, as EA lists it on the game’s page:
- PC: EA app for Windows, Steam and Epic Games Store. The account is shared, so you only pick a store based on where you want to launch the game from.
- PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5: both generations, and the game is free on consoles too.
- Xbox: Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.
- Nintendo Switch 2: this version launched on 5 August 2025 and gets new seasons at the same time as the other platforms.
Playing on PlayStation or Xbox doesn’t require a subscription. The free battle royale runs on both consoles without PlayStation Plus or Game Pass. If you’re wondering what else is worth playing on your console, we have a roundup of the best PS5 games and a breakdown of whether Game Pass is worth it.
The original Nintendo Switch version ended on 4 August 2026
EA announced on 30 January 2026 that Apex Legends was ending on the original Switch. Season 29 was the last one the console received, and since 4 August 2026, the start of Season 30, the game is no longer playable on Switch. Purchased Apex Coins and cosmetics can be carried over to Switch 2, because progress is tied to your EA account. If you only own the original Switch, you’re out of luck: Apex won’t run there anymore, and there’s no alternative way to get it.
Apex Legends Mobile was shut down in 2023
The mobile version existed for less than a year. EA and Respawn announced the end on 31 January 2023, purchases stopped working the same day, and the servers went offline on 1 May 2023. Since then the game hasn’t been in any store, and nothing has replaced it. If you come across a link promising “Apex Legends mobile download”, it’s either an old article or a scam. Apex Legends isn’t playable on phones.
Crossplay between PC and consoles
Crossplay is always on and works simply: console platforms play with each other, and PC plays against PC. If a console player invites a friend from PC into their party, though, the whole party goes into the PC lobby. Matchmaking depends on whether anyone in the group is using a mouse and keyboard.
You can only turn it off from one side. On PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, you’ll find the Cross Platform Play option in the settings and can switch it to Disabled, at the cost of longer queue times. On PC crossplay can’t be turned off, and it wouldn’t make sense anyway, since a PC player never ends up in a console lobby.
Tied to crossplay is cross-progression: since Season 19 (late October 2023), your progress, cosmetics and currency are linked to your EA account, so if you move from console to PC, you don’t start from scratch.
What to do when the game runs poorly
If your frame rate drops even on a build that meets the specs on paper, go through these steps in order:
- Resolution first, details second. You’ll gain the most by lowering the resolution or turning on dynamic scaling, not by switching off shadows.
- Set the frame cap to a value you can hold. A stable 90 fps plays better than bouncing between 60 and 140.
- Check your drive. On a traditional hard disk, textures load in during the drop and the game freezes for a few seconds. An SSD fixes this particular problem.
- Watch your temperatures. On a laptop, frame drops are often caused by throttling, not a weak graphics card.
- Treat ping separately from frame rate. Choppy enemy movement is a network problem, not a graphics one. We cover which servers to play on and why in our article on language support and the community.
If your computer really can’t handle the game and you don’t want to buy a new one, streaming from a server is the remaining option. Game catalogs change over time from service to service, so check that Apex Legends is in the catalog of the specific one you’re considering. We explain how it all works and what you need in our article on what cloud gaming is.
FAQ
64-bit Windows 10, an Intel Core i3-6300 or AMD FX-4350 processor, 6 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 950 or Radeon HD 7790 graphics card with 2 GB, and 75 GB of free disk space.
No. Apex Legends Mobile ended on 1 May 2023, and there has been no official mobile version since. Whatever you find in app stores under a similar name isn’t a Respawn game.
Not on the original Switch, where support ended on 4 August 2026. On Nintendo Switch 2 the game keeps running and gets new seasons like the other platforms.
Yes, crossplay makes that possible. The whole party is then placed in the PC lobby, though, so your friend will be playing against mouse and keyboard players.
Only on consoles, in the settings under Cross Platform Play. There’s no such option on PC.
Details verified as of 6 September 2026. Once you have the game running, check out our guide to your first matches, the overview of legends and their abilities, and the breakdown of weapons worth picking up. You’ll find the rest of our guides in the Apex Legends section.