Recently, Respawn Entertainment announced a change in the battle pass system for Apex Legends. Instead of one long battle pass per season, players will now receive two shorter battle passes. While Respawn claims that the new 60-tier half-season passes will still offer the same number of legendary skins as the old 110-tier passes, players are unhappy that they can no longer save up Apex Coins to unlock premium tiers in future passes. Now, players will need to pay $9.99 USD to unlock the premium tracks directly.
This change has led to a backlash from players, who have taken to Steam to leave negative reviews for the game. Over 1,300 negative reviews have been posted today, causing the recent review score average to drop to “Mixed.” Players are citing various reasons for their dissatisfaction, including cheaters, bugs, server issues, and balancing problems. Some have even stated that the new battle pass system is the final straw for them, leading them to uninstall the game.
Despite the negative reviews, Apex Legends remains one of the most popular games on Steam, with over 240,000 concurrent players. While complaints about matchmaking, cheating, bugs, and monetization decisions are common for live service games, the backlash against Apex’s new battle pass system has been particularly strong.
It remains to be seen whether EA and Respawn will backtrack on the changes due to the player feedback. If they proceed as planned, the first half-season battle pass will debut in August with Season 22. Players are encouraged to stay updated on any further developments regarding the battle pass system.
Tyler, a PC Gamer writer, has been following the gaming industry since the ’80s and ’90s, playing a variety of games on early PCs and consoles. With a keen interest in gaming news, Tyler brings a unique perspective to his coverage of the latest developments in the gaming world. His experience and passion for gaming make him a valuable asset to the PC Gamer team.
As players continue to voice their concerns about the new battle pass system in Apex Legends, it is clear that the gaming community is passionate about fair and transparent monetization practices. The future of the game may hinge on how EA and Respawn respond to this feedback and whether they are willing to make adjustments to address player concerns.