What with PUBG, another free-to-play battle royale title, implementing bots to ease in new players with almost guaranteed wins, it seems possible that APEX LEGENDS BOTS could be a thing. After all, the game mimics many other elements from PUBG, Fortnite, Overwatch, and other popular games in similar genres. What’s more, Respawn Entertainment added AI bots into its previous game, Titanfall 2, so the team is certainly capable. So then, CAN YOU PLAY AGAINST BOTS IN APEX LEGENDS? Here’s everything you need to know.

Apex Legends Bots | Are bots in the game?

Despite what YouTubers and streamers may have teased, there has been no official confirmation that bots are in the game. While some may say that new players are “as easy as bots,” that just appears to be their way of criticizing the newcomers. With so many different button combinations to learn, as well as unique features like the Ping mechanic, it’s likely that some players will take a little while longer to get all the mechanics down.

With that said, some players have come across opponents with curious names. I myself have come across a “MirageXXXX” player, with the “XXXX” being a series of numbers. Twitter user Godmode also claims to have encountered enemies with a hero name followed by a set of four numbers. These characters have no stats listed on their banner, and searching for their username yields no results. While this isn’t confirmation that bots are indeed in the game, it’s certainly interesting!

The only time we absolutely see AI-controlled players is during the tutorial. In this stage, there are a couple of bot characters that assist you in learning the ropes. Once this short learning stage is completed, however, that’s the end of the player-bot interaction.

Apex Legends Bots | How to identify bots

As detailed above, what we believe to be Apex Legends bots can be spotted by their username. These have a character name followed by four numbers. They also have no stats listed on their banner. What’s more, they appear to travel in groups, so you’ll likely encounter an entire squad of them.

Be sure to keep an eye out for any players with a suspicious name. Meanwhile, we’ll reach out to Epic Games for comment.