It’s been a while since a villain appeared as a playable character in Apex Legends, but that changes in Season 21 with Alter, a dimension-traveling assassin who enjoys altering her backstory as much as she alters reality.

Alter is the new Cantonese-speaking Skirmisher joining the Apex Games in Season 21, and if we had to guess how she got in, “by force” is the word we’d use. That’s both in the literal sense, as she can force herself and her teammates through walls and other solid structures with her tactical prowess, and figuratively, as she’s a person who gets her way by any means necessary in her backstory. And speaking of backstory—well, she has backstories, plural. And there are a lot of them.

"She's not the most reliable narrator when it comes to your past, because she only lets people know what she wants them to know," said Jaclyn Seto, Alter's story lead. "Overall, her past is what it needs to be. Not only can she use it as a tool to manipulate others, but she also knows that knowledge is power."

With such a slick look at the past, the only thing we know for sure about Alter is her present: she's extremely skilled at tracking down and eliminating people across all dimensions, she's competing in the Apex Games, and she has a bone to pick with Horizon. Seto has described Alter's connection to Horizon as less of a relationship and "more of a fixation," and it makes sense that Horizon would have a new playmate when it comes to special in-game jokes and interactions.