French publishing giant Ubisoft is reportedly developing a battle royale title to rival Apex Legends. 

Insider Gaming reports that the project, codenamed Scout, is so aligned with Respawn and EA's hit that its artwork was once a thumbnail for the project. There are also reports of very similar characters to Apex Legends. The game has been in the works for some time now. 

The thinking, seemingly, is that Ubisoft reckons it can poach players from Apex Legends, which has seen something of a decline financially by publisher Electronic Arts' own admission. 

“I think the goal is to capitalize on the player count of Apex dropping and them [Ubisoft higher-ups] thinking there’s room in the market for another hero Battle Royale," one source said. 

This isn't Ubisoft's first foray into the world of free-to-play battle royales; back in 2020, the company released Hyperscape before that game bit the dust just 18 months later. This news also comes hot on the heels of the firm axing free-to-play shooter XDefiant at the end of 2024.  

For what it's worth, there's a new 2.0 version of Apex Legends in the works that is set to launch at some time after April 2026.