EA have secured a patent for Apex Legends’ revolutionary ping system, but they openly want other games to use it as well.
When Apex Legends first launched in February of 2019, it was clear that Respawn and EA had a massive hit on their hands.
The unique take on the battle royale genre introduced a whole host of new features – including the ping system and respawn beacons – that have since been taken and adapted in rival games.
While the top battle royale titles share a lot of the same features these days, EA have managed to bag a patent for Apex’s pinging system, and they’re open to anybody using it.
The current ping system makes it easy for players without the ability to voice chat in-game to still work together as a team.
It can help prevent toxic atmospheres between random teammates, which is why EA are open to sharing their patent and technology with other game developers.
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“By sharing these accessibility patents, we hope to encourage and support other developers to do the same,” Chris Bruzzo, EVP of Positive Play, commercial and marketing at EA told Gamesradar.
EA has officially patented the Ping system in Apex Legends.
However, they are allowing all developers to use it for accessibility.
"We hope developers will make the most of these patents by building similar features in their own video games that make them more inclusive." pic.twitter.com/rXMPi9zDUU
— Apex Legends News (@alphaINTEL) August 24, 2021
Bruzzo wants developers to band together to follow the EA Accessibility patent pledge, where they’re offering up their technology to others in a bid to make games more accessible to all.
“We need to work together as an industry. We hope developers will make the most of these patents by building similar features in their own video games that make them more inclusive,” Bruzzo added.
It’s unclear as to what game or developer will make the leap and be first to use the patent but seeing how well it’s worked in Apex, there will likely be a few lining up to use it.