Apex Legends Season 8: release time, when does the Mayhem update come out in the UK - and what's new?

A new season of content is coming to popular online shooter Apex Legends today (2 February), an update which its creators are calling the “most explosive” yet.

Season 8 – Mayhem comes to the game just a couple of days’ shy of the game’s two-year anniversary, and promises to introduce a brand new character, a revamped map, new weapons, items, and more!

Here is everything you need to know about it.

Who is the new Legend?

Season 8 – Mayhem will introduce players to fuse, a brand new Legend being described by the game’s developers as the “most explosive yet”.

According to the in-game lore, Fuse is a 54-year old (real name Walter Fitzroy) “laid-back explosives enthusiast who’s damn near covered in things that go BOOM.”

"A blow-up-first ask-questions-later kinda guy” who’s “always looking for a good scrap”, it seems as if Fuse will appeal to players who like to make use of explosive abilities.

His tactical ability allows him to launch cluster bombs that continuously expel air burst explosives on impact, while his passive allows players to stack an extra grenade per inventory slot, which they can then fire further, more accurately and faster.

Fuse’s ultimate ability is called The Motherlode, and lets you fire a bombardment that encircles a target area in a deadly wall of flames.

How will the map change?

As part of the Season 8 update, Apex Legends’ King’s Canyon setting will receive a "facelift and an expansion”, with an entirely new addition to the map’s footprint.

As the game’s ‘World Director’ Eduardo Agostini explains, the team “wanted to tell a story that would extend over the course of the season while expanding the size of the map overall and introducing new rotations throughout”.

According to the game’s lore, the debut of Fuse ended with an act of sabotage that blew up parts of King’s Canyon and brought down a massive gunship, which took an entire mountainside with it as it fell from the sky.

What that means for players, is that a large, previously unplayable portion of the map has been opened up, a “tall, King of the Hill power position” with multiple ramps surrounding it to create “a jungle gym of interesting gameplay”.

The fuel leaking from the crashed ship has contaminated the area’s water supply, so Ecological Cleanup and Hazard Outreach (ECHO) has moved in to help clean up the mess.

This means players will be able to find multiple ECHO stations, tent-like structures that “create some intense, close quarter combat opportunities” and “provide teams plenty of breathing space and loot as they plan their assault on the ship.”

Existing areas of the map have been altered by the in-game events also, like Slum Lakes, which becomes Spotted Lakes in the update, its name taken from unusual spots found in the contaminated waters.

The update also introduces four observation towers – perches that can be raised to gain an overview of the surrounding area at the risk of revealing your position – and explosive holds, which grant access to weapons, ammo and valuable attachments if you have the explosive capabilities to break into them.

How does the Battle Pass work?

Of course, Apex Legends and its seasonal updates are free to players, but you’ll want to pay for Season 8’s Battle Pass to really get the most out of it.

Mayhem’s Battle Pass will grant players access to over 100 items, like Legendary skins, Apex Packs and Holo-Sprays, and players will immediately unlock the Legendary Flatline Chained Beast when they purchase it.

From there, you can battle through the remaining 100 levels to earn the rest of the rewards including Legendary items like the Radical Action Bangalore, Bad to the Bone Lifeline, and the DMR X-1 Reactive Longbow.

"Everything you earn before the season’s over is yours to keep and admire, forever!” say the developers.

When will the update be available?

The update goes like on Tuesday 2 February at 10am Pacific Time, which equates to 6pm in the UK.

For more information on Apex Legends Season 8 – Mayhem, head to the developer’s website