Apex Legends on PC switches to EA Javelin Anticheat on September 29

The PC version of the free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends changes anticheat on September 29. After years with Epic Games' Easy Anti-Cheat, it moves to EA's in-house EA Javelin Anticheat[1]. The same week, the Street Fighter 6 crossover event is still running. Apex was sixth on Valve's most-played chart for the week ending September 26, peaking at 248,204 concurrent players[3]. Everything below comes from EA and Respawn's official posts, checked on September 27, 2026.

Update on the 29th and you are moved over

The switch is designed to be invisible. On September 29, PC players will be asked to download an update, and launching the game afterwards migrates them to EA Javelin Anticheat automatically[1]. Players who met Javelin in other EA games may remember having to enable Secure Boot in their BIOS; Respawn says that is not required for Apex Legends at this time[1].

Respawn's reasoning is visibility and flexibility: owning the anticheat lets its teams see emerging threats sooner and change detections faster. EA says Javelin has blocked millions of cheating attempts in the games that already use it, with accuracy above 99%[1]. Console cheating continues to be handled with server-side detection and dedicated data models[1].

Three weeks of Hadokens

The Street Fighter 6 event started on September 22 and runs until October 13[2]. In Wildcard you pick one of four kits based on Ryu, Chun-Li, Akuma and Dhalsim, and collecting tokens fills a gauge that unlocks Fighter Form: a third-person mode with a new tactical and ultimate, stronger melee, a block, extra damage resistance and bonus speed[2]. The matches take place on a Street Fighter 6 remix of Olympus[2].

The cosmetics are extensive. Eight Iconic skins dress Legends as Street Fighter 6 characters, including Sparrow as Ryu, Alter as Chun-Li, Gibraltar as Akuma and Pathfinder as Dhalsim, alongside eight weapon skins and a Hadoken Mythic universal melee with a matching Deathbox[2]. Zenny earned from matches unlocks items in a Reward Shop, including an epic Lifeline skin[2]. EA's page does not list how the Iconic skins or the Hadoken melee are priced or obtained.

There are free extras too. Watching an Apex stream on Twitch for 60 minutes before September 29 earns a weapon charm, and playing for 15 minutes through the Discord Quest before October 12 earns a tracker set; both require linking your EA account[2].

Sources

[1] Respawn. EA Javelin Anticheat is Coming to Apex Legends. Apex Legends Steam announcement, September 25, 2026.

[2] Electronic Arts. Apex Legends VS Street Fighter 6 Event. Accessed September 27, 2026.

[3] Valve. Steam most-played chart data. Week ending September 26, accessed September 27, 2026.