Apex Legends Art Director Says Street Fighter 6 Pushed Devs to Give Characters the ‘Thickest Thighs’ They’ve Ever Had
Apex Legends and Street Fighter 6 are officially crossing over starting September 22, bringing Capcom’s iconic fighting game characters into EA’s battle royale. The event, titled “Apex Legends vs Street Fighter 6,” will run through October 13 and represents a major collaboration combining two distinct gaming franchises.
The crossover includes eight legendary character skins that transform Apex Legends heroes into Street Fighter 6 fighters: Sparrow becomes Ryu, Alter transforms into Chun-Li, Mirage takes on Luke, Caustic becomes Blanka, Wattson turns into Cammy, Gibraltar is reimagined as Akuma, Bangalore becomes Elena, and Pathfinder is restyled as Dhalsim. Additionally, players can unlock an Epic skin for Lifeline as Li-Fen, Chun-Li’s protégé from Street Fighter 6’s story mode.
Beyond cosmetics, the event introduces a Wildcard Takeover game mode that fundamentally reimagines Apex Legends’ gameplay. Rather than traditional gunplay-focused battle royale combat, players select from Street Fighter characters and engage in melee-based fighting, utilizing Street Fighter mechanics to defeat opponents. The mode incorporates coin collection tied to special progression systems.
The collaboration also features a dedicated point-of-interest location, weapon skins, emotes, and cosmetic rewards available through the game’s Reward Shop. According to Apex Legends art director Alisa Rastorgueva, the character skins pushed the game’s technical limits further than previous designs, resulting in noticeably more detailed character proportions than the game has previously featured.
The timing aligns with the upcoming release of a new Street Fighter film adaptation occurring approximately one month after the crossover launch, positioning the in-game event as promotional content for the broader franchise.