Respawn Addresses Apex Legends Leaks and Fortnite's New Patch Arrives

Welcome to the Daily Drop, where we'll break down some of the biggest news in gaming. 

Apex Legends rumors have hit a new peak, causing Respawn Entertainment to finally address the community's hype, while Fortnite releases its first new update of Season 8.

Respawn Comments on Recent Apex Legends Leaks

It's been a wild few weeks for Apex Legends rumors and leaks, and Respawn has finally commented on the situation.

As fans eagerly anticipate the game's first content update since release, Respawn is asking fans to be patient. In the past few weeks, various leaks have been datamined by the Apex Legends community, including the anticipated new champion and a potentially leaked future roster. The rumors peaked when fans saw a new banner when logging on to play the game on Tuesday, showcasing the previously datamined artwork for Octane and new details about the Battle Pass.

With fans expecting an imminent release, Respawn took to Reddit to clarify the situation: Battle Pass and new champion details were coming "very soon," but not on Tuesday.

Furthermore, Respawn commented on the nature of datamining and drawing definite conclusions based on what is found in the game's files. Respawn insisted that finding new, unannounced content is by no means a confirmation of future plans, noting that oftentimes the content is old or stuff the company was testing and decided to cut.

Fortnite's First Major Season 8 Patch Drops

Epic released Patch 8.10 today, the first big patch since Season 8 began.

The highlight of the patch is Fortnite's newest vehicle, the Baller—a single-seat vehicle that has a Grappler attached to it. They can be found at any Expedition Outpost and at pirate camp loot stashes.

Additionally, Epic has decided to combine the Xbox One and PS4 pools, making crossplay for consoles default. Players will now be grouped into the same matchmaking pool regardless of what console they're playing on. Epic made the same player pool changes for mobile and Switch as well.

Among the gameplay changes, Epic tweaked how vending machines work in Fortnite. The machines no longer have a material cost associated with them, but will be destroyed after a player uses them to get an item. Epic also made adjustments to the Clinger's stack size, removed the Infantry Rifle's common rarity and reduced the Heavy Assault Rifle's rarity damage scaling.

You can check out the full patch notes here.