Newcastle’s scrapped kit in Apex Legends was a shield prop called the Axium

An Apex Legends developer has revealed that in the early design stages, Newcastle was called Axium and their abilities were very different.

Each character in the Apex Legends roster is completely unique, with their own interesting backstory, abilities, and personality.

So it’s easy to see why Respawn takes so long for each of the legends, going through multiple designs before finally settling on a final product.

While the majority of these scrapped kits and abilities fall by the wayside, it’s always interesting for the community to see what could have been added to the game.

So it was incredibly exciting when the developers revealed in a Saviors Q&A that Newcastle was called Axium early in design and had a number of “Breach and Clear” abilities.

Newcastle is the new legend of season 13.

Newcastle used to be called Axium in Apex Legends

During a Q&A ahead of the Season 13 update, the Apex Legends developers gave a glimpse into Newcastle’s design, even revealing that the powerful shield bearer used to be called Axium.

His original loadout focused on a “breach and clear” playstyle, where he would aggressively engage enemies with his shield and try to close positions.

With a passive centered around shield batteries, Axium was a defensive legend, always looking to get in the thick of things.

Unfortunately, his kit was deemed too “selfish” by the developers because it didn’t work with his team and didn’t encourage team-based gameplay.

Newcastle is Bangalore’s brother Jackson.

While Axium will almost certainly never make it to the Outlands, it’s still interesting to see the inspiration behind Newcastle’s current abilities.

Who knows, maybe part of Axium’s kit will show up in a future Legend’s design, we’ll just have to wait and see.

In any case, Season 13 of Apex Legends goes live on May 10th and Newcastle will be making its debut in the Outlands, so make sure you’re prepared for the update.