Apex Legends Season 30 ‘Marked’: Exact Times, Bloodhound Rework, Switch 1 Ends
Apex Legends’ 30th season, subtitled “Marked,” goes live on August 4, 2026, bringing the biggest rework of Bloodhound since launch, a rebuilt World’s Edge, a new Corrupted Attachments system and the permanent shutdown of the game on the original Nintendo Switch. Respawn Entertainment confirmed the update’s scope and timing through its own Apex Legends news portal, with the changes independently corroborated by outlets including Dot Esports, Sportskeeda and GameRant.
The rollover happens with zero downtime: Apex Legends Season 30 will debut on August 4, 2026, at 10:00 am PT (UTC-7), which is 5:00 pm UTC, the exact moment Season 29, “Overclocked,” expires. Respawn’s own update page confirms players should “grab your squadmates, clear your calendar, and dive head first into Apex Legends: Marked when it releases on August 4th, 2026!”
Exact Launch Times for New Zealand and Australia
For players tracking the countdown locally, the 5:00 pm UTC start converts to roughly 5:00 am NZST on Wednesday, August 5, and about 3:00 am AEST the same morning for the Australian east coast, since neither region observes daylight saving in early August. West Coast North American players get the 10:00 am kickoff during their working day, while European fans will see the update land in the early evening.
Because Season 29 ends the instant Season 30 begins, there is no scheduled maintenance gap between updates. Anyone with an unfinished Battle Pass or ranked placement match should note that unclaimed Season 29 rewards will not roll over once the clock resets.
Bloodhound’s Ultimate Becomes a Team Cloak, Not a Solo Hunt
The headline change is a top-to-bottom overhaul of Bloodhound, one of the six Legends available since the game’s 2019 launch. According to Dot Esports, Bloodhound has a new, refined set of abilities including an entirely new ultimate to help them keep up with the faster pace of modern Apex. The old solo-frenzy ultimate is gone entirely.
In its place is the Allfather’s Cloak: an ultimate that cloaks any teammates in its range, granting them increased speed and threat vision, with leaving the area allowing allies to stay cloaked longer, but taking any damage or using a weapon will remove the effect. Dot Esports notes the shift moves Bloodhound from a lone-wolf tracker toward “more of a team advantage” pick. GameRant’s reporting adds that the passive and tactical abilities are also being retuned rather than replaced, with a ton of new content for the popular battle royale game, including a map adjustment for World’s Edge for the first time in a long time.
Two older Legends get smaller touch-ups alongside Bloodhound. Respawn’s own patch preview states “Bloodhound isn’t hunting alone. Loba and Rampart join the pack with fresh buffs. Loba keeps the squad supplied with an improved Black Market with a reduced cooldown timer. Her Tactical moves faster and covers more ground”, changes aimed at keeping veteran picks competitive against newer additions like Season 29’s Axle.
Corrupted Attachments and a Trimmed Loot Economy
Marked also introduces Corrupted Attachments, a new mod category that trades raw power for a drawback. Respawn describes it directly: “Corrupted Attachments introduce new power with a real tradeoff, energy weapons have been completely reworked, and visible weapon stats show how attachments change the performance of each weapon.” Only one Corrupted Attachment can be slotted per gun for now.
Energy weapons are getting their own overhaul, moving away from fixed ammo counts. Sportskeeda’s coverage confirms the developers are changing how Energy weapons work in Apex Legends by adding regenerating ammo, meaning players who run dry can simply wait rather than scramble for pickups mid-fight.
The wider loot pool is also being trimmed. Respawn’s patch notes confirm the studio is “removing Support and Assault Bins, Explosive Holds, loot bin resets, wildlife loot, and rebalancing all other loot sources” to push squads toward committing to whatever loadout they already have rather than chasing late-game upgrades.
No New Legend Until Season 32
Unlike most seasons, Marked does not add a 29th playable Legend. Respawn’s 2026 roadmap set that expectation months earlier, confirming two new Legends this year, one Skirmisher in Season 29 and another in Season 32, while continuing to evolve the existing roster with Legend Reworks planned for Seasons 30 and 31. That means Bloodhound’s overhaul effectively substitutes for a new-character drop this cycle, with the next fresh face not arriving until February 2027.
Original Nintendo Switch Loses Apex Legends for Good
The launch of Season 30 also marks the end of the road for Apex Legends on the original Nintendo Switch, a change EA flagged on its own support page well ahead of time. The notice states plainly: “Starting August 4, 2026 (Season 30), Apex Legends will no longer be playable on the Nintendo Switch system.” Season 29 was confirmed as the console’s last content update.
Players won’t lose their progress, however. EA’s page confirms all players’ progress, purchases, and earnings are tied to their individual EA accounts, meaning Apex Coins and cosmetics carry over automatically to Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation, Xbox or PC. Premium currency purchases on the original Switch will simply stop being possible once the cutoff hits, though existing balances can still be spent beforehand.
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For a seven-year-old shooter still drawing crowds to events like the Esports World Cup, folding a Legend rework, a ranked-focused map overhaul and a hardware sunset into a single patch is a lot to land in one day. Australian and New Zealand players logging on for that early-morning reset will at least know exactly what they’re walking into — and exactly which console will no longer let them walk in at all.
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