Tencent reveals Apex Legends Mobile Clone for China

It looks like Tencent didn't get the memo when Apex Legends Mobile announced sunset. At least, when it comes to the Chinese market. Either way, Apex Legends Mobile, which was also published by Tencent didn't release in China. Maybe it's because of High Energy Heroes, the new Apex Legends Mobile clone announced exclusively for China. Also published by Tencent, High Energy Heroes is developed by the same studio that developed Apex Legends Mobile and PUBG Mobile.

While High Energy Heroes clearly looks like an Apex Legends Mobile clone, it appears to be going out of its way to claim its own identity. None of the characters or weapons are named after the ones in Apex Legends. It's all quite telling that despite sharing the same developer, Lightspeed and Quantum Studios, and publisher, Tencent Studios, High Energy Heroes is an unofficial Apex Legends Mobile clone. And many such clones exist in the Chinese mobile game market. It appears High Energy Heroes aims to deliver the same experience Apex Legends Mobile did.

TheLeakerBot, a Twitter user who leaked High Energy Heroes, believes the game has no connection to Respawn or EA. When Lightspeed and Quantum Studios released Apex Legends Mobile, they claimed on their website that they were supported by Respawn. They don't have a page up yet on their site for High Energy Heroes but haven't made any such claims. Interestingly, High Energy Heroes announcement came just a month after Apex Legends Mobile servers officially shut down. And coincidentally, Apex Legends Mobile didn't release in China.

Twitter user and leaker hesketh2 reveal that High Energy Heroes has revamped the characters from Apex Legends Mobile, renaming them as "Heroes." The game also introduces altered character lore. For example, Lifeline is now portrayed as a "researcher" and Bloodhound resembles Raiden from Mortal Kombat, referred to as a "master." The significant change is evident in their anime-inspired appearance. The heroes don't look anything like their original counterparts. However, it's quite clear they're the same characters.

A lot of Apex Legends Mobile players believe that despite being an obvious rip-off, High Energy Heroes looks cooler than Apex Legends Mobile. There has been some criticisim of Lifeline's design, particularly the fact that she's been "whitewashed" with an anime avatar. However, there's plenty of appreciation for the trailer and the World's Edge design shown in it. Plenty of players are also appreciating the character's abilities and their animations. Bloodhound with a Raiden Skin does look cool, especially with all the lightning effects.

While EA did shut Apex Legends Mobile down, they haven't ruled out a return. Either way, the game didn't launch in China as it is. So it appears Tencent is trying its luck in the Chinese market with High Energy Heroes. It'll be interesting to see if EA takes any action against High Energy Heroes for being a clone, or use it as a testbed to gauge the Chinese market's reception to Apex Legends Mobile.

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