The Apex Legends Season 31 release date is November 3, 2026, when Season 31 (Cipher) goes live at 10 AM PT, or 1 PM ET and 6 PM UTC. Legend Banning in Diamond+ matches and new scoring adjustments for wide-skill lobbies start at the same time, and Road to Ranked Challenges are removed.
When Season 31 starts in each region
| Region | Date | Start time |
| Pacific Time (PT) | November 3 | 10 AM |
| Eastern Time (ET) | November 3 | 1 PM |
| UTC | November 3 | 6 PM |
| Asia (China, Korea, Japan) | November 4 | Start time differs by country |
Season 30 ends on November 3. Players in China, Korea and Japan see the season begin on November 4.
What is live when Season 31 starts
- Legend Banning: Every Diamond+ match gets a banning phase, and each player votes for one Legend. A Legend's chance of being banned matches its share of the lobby's votes, and the system currently bans 2 Legends. Banned Legends cannot be picked by anyone in that match.
- Scoring for wide-skill lobbies: A squad two or more Rank Tiers below the lobby's Lobby Tier enters a Challenger match, with entry cost cut by 30%. A squad that is two or more tiers above the Lobby Tier enters a Goliath match, and its entry cost goes up by 50%. The match type appears on the Waiting for Players screen, and you can also check it once you have exited the dropship.
- Road to Ranked removed: Road to Ranked Challenges are removed, and Ranked access goes back to requiring only Account Level 20. EA says it will keep looking for the right level threshold.
- Demotion Protection: This existing feature gets a clearer display. If a single match has the potential to demote you, you receive three Demotion Shields, and one shield gets spent whenever a loss would be large enough to knock you down a tier. Demotion Protection ends when you gain enough RP that a single match can no longer demote you, or when you run out of shields.
What else launches with Season 31
- Akimbo Wingman: The Wingman gets a dual-wield option that fires each revolver in a quick burst, and the Akimbo Wingman spawns on Heavy Ammo Arsenals.
- Strongholds: These risky spots hold weapons from crates, corrupted attachments and EVO for the team, but getting inside one takes a while and sets off an alarm.
- Crypto and Revenant: Crypto's Surveillance Drone now runs on batteries instead of a cooldown, and Revenant's Tactical and Ultimate cooldowns get shorter.
What comes next
Full patch notes were published on November 2. Ranked Ladders are coming later this split, with the first running November 10 to 15 and the fifth running December 8 to 13. Season 32 arrives in early 2027 and brings new Ranks, including Emerald, plus a split into Open and Pro-Am leagues.
See also: Apex Legends Aftershock Event Guide
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