WithApex Legendscelebrating its four-year anniversary and debuting Season 16: Revelry, some players are noticing a missing key component. Respawn Entertainment has not released a “Stories from the Outlands” entry, which typically accompanies eachApex Legendsseason launch to provide a glimpse at the game’s lore - occasionally featuring Outlands TV news anchor Lisa Stone.Their absence may be related to this season’s focus on adjusting gameplay rather than expanding the world, but the silence itself could imply some greater developments.
The short news segments hosted by Lisa Stone have delivered bite-sized developments across severalStories from the Outlands animated shorts, but recently that in-game news has become increasingly propagandistic. Outlands TV used be relatively neutral, serving as a narrative frame for lore drops, but Lisa Stone has begun using her platform to influence public opinion toward certain legends. Her absence from Season 16could mean there’s something even bigger going on behind the scenes of the Apex Games just waiting to be unveiled.
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Apex Legends: Who is Lisa Stone?
Players were first introduced to Lisa Stone in the Stories from the Outlands Season 4 entry “Up Close and Personal.” Respawn successfully flipped fans' expectations bykilling off the newly announced legend Forgeat the hands Revenant. At the time, many assumed she was a relatively inconsequential character, included only to serve a supporting role for Revenant’s memorable debut. It was also unclear whether she fell victim to Revenant’s assassination mission after the camera cut to black.
Stone has appeared a few more times since then, but it wasn’t until Season 11 thatApexplayers began to notice something shift with her character. Torres Silva, the primary antagonist ofApex Legendsand CEO of Silva Pharmaceuticals, began to use Stone as a mouthpiece for his corporation’s agenda.Torres Silva is Octane’s grandfather, who secretly took the place of his late son Duardo Silva to further his own goals.
Lisa Stone is Silva’s Propaganda Platform
Until recently, the Syndicate Council was in charge of the Apex Games. But by using Stone’s podcast “Unraveling the Syndicate” to garner support, Silva successfully installed himself as the leader of the council. With Stone’s help, Silva installed himself as the “One Voice of the Syndicate,” which empowered him to enact sweeping measures that affected life acrossthe various planets of Outlands space.
Since then, Silva’s has solidified his influence over the Games, using Lisa Stone’s media platform to further shape public opinion in his favor. The most obvious example comes from Season 13, where Stone lured Seer into a disastrous one-on-one interview. The attempted character assassination tarnished Seer’s reputation in the public eye and steered him toward collaborating with Silva. This led directly to the creation of Season 15’s new map Broken Moon,as well as the newest playable Legend Catalyst.
Over the past several seasons, players have seen Silva’s growing influence in the Outlands TV lore drops. Stone now acts as the most powerful arm of Silva’s propaganda machine, shaping the Outlands' opinions ofApex Games contestants like Mad Maggieand Seer. Stone’s absence from the Season 16 launch, and the lack of an animated short altogether, may imply that there’s something substantial waiting to rear its head. Silva Pharmaceutical’s influence over the Apex Games has only been growing, and the silence could mean Silva is working on something big for next season. For now, all players can do is wonder in silence.
Apex Legendsis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
