The new “Spellbound Collection” event of Apex Legends game was launched on Tuesday, but its charming and innovative cosmetic set is not the only new addition made to the game. In fact, the event update also introduced a long-awaited feature: private matches. 

The new feature allows players to arrange their own private games among friends and organize tournaments, a factor that will surely strengthen the game’s competitive scene outside of official eSport competitions such as ALGS. 

However, the new feature has puzzled some fans, especially regarding the thirty players required to start a private game. In addition, there are also new features from the perspective of LTM compatibility to customization settings. Let’s look at them step by step. 

Apex Legends: game modes and maps 

The Apex Legends game opens the possibility for players to private matches as well as many new features in this regard, though unfortunately there are some problems being experienced by players. Most notably, the private matching feature that is available on all platforms. 

However, at the moment Respawn stated that the chat functionality is currently limited on consoles due to a bug that is being looked into. Apart from this temporary problem, all platforms are equal in terms of access to private matches.

There is no limit to the number of matches that can be played in a private match, and players can compete in them in either the classic battle royale mode or the 3v3 Arenas mode. Currently, no time-limited modes are accessible, although Respawn has hinted that LTMs may soon join other modes. 

As for maps, these are all up for grabs, with the exception of those missing from the current season’s map rotation. For example, Kings Canyon is not currently available in Battle Royale mode and will not be until it becomes available again, that is, when it enters the public game map rotation. The same concept also applies to Arenas maps.

Furthermore, although standard Apex matches consist of 60 players, only a minimum of 30 players is required to start a private Battle Royale match. In any case, if you do not have all those players, you may still play with six players in a private match in the arenas.

How the new Apex Legends Game works: all the details 

To get started, simply open the game mode menu at the bottom left of the main lobby screen. At the top of the menu, there are two tabs labeled “public match” and “private match.” The public correspondence tab is selected by default, so you will have to select the private correspondence option.

Next, two options are offered: create a private match or join a match in progress. To join a match, simply select it and enter the Tournament Participant Code (TPC) of the match. If, on the other hand, you are starting your own private match, you will be directed to a screen showing a list of 20 three-member teams that you can assign to users participating in the match. 

As players join the match via TPC, their user names will appear in a vertical list on the left side of the screen. To assign players to their teams, one must drag each player’s username to one of the empty slots in the team list. 

Once at least 30 players have joined the game, you must check that they have been loaded into the map. If, for example, a player has a rotating yellow icon next to his username, he has not yet finished loading the map and you will have to wait to start the match. 

Once everyone is sorted into their teams and ready, you must select the “Start Match” button on the left side of the screen (just below the vertical list of participants’ usernames). 

The thirty-player problem: user criticism 

As anticipated, if you want to play a private game with Apex Legends Game you need to find 29 other people to join. This particular requirement appears to have been excluded from the patch notes and only shared in an FAQ published shortly before the update itself. 

Respawn tweeted the information as a reminder to people who were planning to prepare for a private game, but since this detail was omitted from the patch notes, this was the first time people heard about the clause in question. 

Below is the tweet discussing the 30-player clause: 

Before private matches go live later today, we wanted to remind folks that they require 30 players to start. For more info, check out our FAQ

See you soon, legends!

: https://t.co/hI78XH61T3 pic.twitter.com/SYP1Uzc9Ds

— Respawn (@Respawn) January 10, 2023

So, in response to Respawn’s tweet in which it wanted to “remind” players of this requirement, people rightly said that this made private matches more of a creation tool rather than something usable by the average Apex player.