The production team at OGN have announced that foreign teams will not compete in APEX Season 4. As the West's top teams prepare for Contenders Season 1, and eventually the Overwatch League, participation in the Korean tournament is not as attractive as it once was.

The announcement had this to say about the topic (translated):

First of all, foreign teams will not be invited to the next season of APEX. Overseas teams will compete in their own leagues due to difficulties in competing in these leagues alongside APEX. I would like to express my gratitude to the foreign teams who have made APEX so successful.

Alongside the absence of foreign competitors, disbanded teams BK Stars, Rhinos Gaming Wings and Mighty AOD will not compete in Season 4. As such, OGN have decided to cancel the upcoming Super Week, the promotion and relegation event utilized in previous seasons of the league. The top five teams from APEX Challengers Season 4 will be promoted to the main event. Thus Luxury Watch Red, GC Busan, NC Foxes and ROX Orcas have automatically qualified for Season 4. Meta Bellum and Afreeca Freecs Red will compete for the final spot, a victory for Meta Bellum in their upcoming match against GC Busan will secure the team promotion.

The announcement also specifies that Season 4 will follow shortly after Season 3 in August, with a short period of time between seasons to allow teams to make roster changes.

A recent report by ESPN's Jacob Wolf indicates that an Overwatch League spot in Seoul has been agreed upon. With this in mind, alongside the absence of foreign teams in APEX, the nature of competitive Overwatch in Korea is set to change dramatically.