Summary
Earlier this month,Apex Legendsdeveloper Respawn Entertainment managed to anger the game’s community by announcing a variety of changes to the game’s Battle Pass format. Instead of one big Battle Pass per season, it was decided to have one per half season, but the most controversial change wasthe removal of the option to purchase Premium passes with Apex Coins.
Being forced to spend money on something dedicated players were essentially getting for free didn’t go down too well, unsurprisingly,with the game dropping to Mixed on Steam shortly after the announcement(now sat at Overwhelmingly Negative). It was a backlash so strong that many assumed EA and Respawn would eventually buckle and reverse course, and that’s exactly what happened.
In a statement released on boththe Apex Legends websiteandits official Twitter account, Respawn has apologized for its handling of the entire situation and is restoring the ability to purchase the game’s Premium Battle Pass with Apex Coins.
With the release of Season 22 we will restore the ability to get the Premium Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins. We recognize that we could have handled the Battle Pass changes better—that’s on us.
Apex Legends Has Scrapped Its Controversial Battle Pass Changes
Along with the apology, Respawn has released an updated chart breaking down what everyone will get with each Battle Pass, and how the system will work going forward. Starting with Season 22, which kicks off on August 6, you’ll be able to earn the first Premium Battle Pass by completing a series of “simple in-game challenges” before the changes take full effect with the release of the second Premium Battle Pass on September 17.
Finally, Respawn ends the post by admitting that it needs to be “more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications” to avoid situations like this in the future, and that it needs to start acting on issues that players consider priorities a bit better. A lot of the ire directed towards this Battle Pass change was exasperated by the state of Apex Legends as a whole, which Respawn acknowledges by saying it will try to tackle “cheaters, game stability, and quality of life updates” more consistently.
Hopefully, this community backlash has taught Respawn a harsh lesson, and we will start seeing some improvements to Apex Legends soon. Scrapping the Battle Pass changes was a step in the right direction, and a good indicator the studio is willing to listen to its fanbase, but we’ll have to wait and see whether it can earn back the trust of its players.
