Apex Legends solo queue launches June 30: Will you be playing?

Apex Legends’ highly anticipated ranked solo queue, originally slated to launch on June 9 and wrap up on June 23, was unexpectedly postponed for the entire first split of Season 29. The decision left the community divided, yet the forthcoming trial is now firmly on the horizon, with a new timetable that promises to be definitive.

Confirmed by ApexLiveComms on June 24, the solo‑queue experiment will be exclusive to players ranked Diamond, Masters, and Preds. The trial is scheduled to commence on June 30 and conclude on July 13, or earlier if sufficient data is collected.

The trial will kick off at 10 a.m. PT on June 30 and run until July 13, unless the data gathered indicates a need to end sooner. During this window, Diamond‑level players and above will be barred from forming premade squads in ranked matches.

Respawn acknowledged the disparity on June 8, noting that “solo players are at a disadvantage against coordinated three‑stacks, especially in ranked.” The upcoming test aims to level the playing field and ensure a fairer competitive experience.

Respawn’s abrupt removal of the Champion Squad during the Season 29 mid‑season patch has sparked a flurry of backlash. Players argue that the move was a covert attempt to mask matchmaking against Predator players in Diamond lobbies, a tactic that would prevent high‑ranked competitors from seeing a stacked Predator Champion Squad before the match even begins. While this could reduce pre‑match drop‑outs, it also eliminates a key tool that highlighted cheating activity. Critics point out that the squad’s usefulness was already in question—given the ability to rack up 4,000 damage and 20 kill badges in Wildcard, and the earlier season 17 “rat‑to‑Pred” loophole—yet it still served as a visible deterrent against illicit behavior.

The debate over ranked solo queue is equally nuanced. Proponents argue that eliminating the squad could level the playing field at the highest tiers, fostering a more competitive environment and restoring strategic depth that had been diluted by the system’s current design. They cite the early 2023 “Realm” era and Apex Season 13—when top players like ImperialHal and HisWattson vied for the apex Predator title—as benchmarks for a more engaging, skill‑centric experience. Opponents, however, warn that the core mechanics remain unchanged, and that the removal may simply shift the balance without addressing underlying power disparities.

Many community voices insist that solo queue is essential to correcting the power imbalance that plagues the upper echelons of the game, arguing that only by reintroducing a more rigorous solo path can we achieve truly high‑quality ranked matches. Yet they also caution against forcing Diamond players into solo queue, suggesting that only Master and Apex Predator tiers should adopt a solo format to preserve the integrity of the mid‑tier experience.

On the team‑centric side, Apex is widely recognized as a cooperative endeavor. Players who regularly team up with friends find the grind to Apex Predator both rewarding and enjoyable, whereas solo queue is often viewed as a punitive experience. While elite competitors such as iiTzTimmy, Mande, and HisWattson routinely tackle the challenge, the majority of the player base lacks the skill level to thrive in such a demanding environment.

Players who have reached the upper echelons of Apex Legends may find that the game’s competitive edge has sharpened to the point where enjoyment takes a backseat. This shift, however, isolates many fans—myself included—who want to enjoy the game with friends while still competing in ranked play. The central question is: what is Respawn prioritizing? If the new adjustments prove effective, Diamond+ competitors will likely experience an adjustment period similar to past evolutions and Respawn tweaks, though the changes may arrive too late or be insufficient.

Solo queue is notoriously frustrating unless you’re skilled enough to outplay a trio by yourself. I’ve personally observed how frequently lower tiers match players with less skilled teammates.

Respawn has introduced specific adjustments targeting solo queue. For Season 29, the matchmaking system now pairs solo players in both ranked and public modes with opponents of a slightly lower skill tier. The aim is to give solo competitors a better chance against teams that stack three players.

If the solo queue system becomes permanent, it could ignite a surge of smurfs who create fresh accounts to climb the ranks until they hit Diamond, only to restart the climb again. To curb this, a permanent implementation should restrict solo queue access to the top 750 players on each platform, ensuring that those vying for the #1 spot cannot stack their way up. In the competitive scene, caster NiceWigg has already voiced support for duo queue in the Master and Pred lobbies.

Coincidentally, the ALGS Split 1 Playoffs are scheduled from July 7 to 11. During the two weeks leading up to the event, professional teams will be in bootcamp, scrimmaging for the upcoming LAN, which means they will miss the opportunity to participate in the ranked solo queue trial. This raises a critical question: without the pros on the field, can the test reliably determine whether ranked play is more effective with or without solo queue?

I’ll leave the decision in your hands. Will you be tuning into Apex Legends from June 30 to July 13? And what are your thoughts on this experiment?