Apex Legends In the face of great player discontent, developer Respawn has backtracked and scrapped its plan to make the game’s Battle Pass only purchasable with real money.
In early July, the developer announced a restructured Battle Pass that would launch with the game’s next season, Season 22. The plan is for there to be a new Battle Pass every half season, rather than every season, and Respawn will remove the ability to purchase a Battle Pass with 950 Apex Coins, the game’s premium currency. The new price will be $9.99.
It was the latter change that particularly angered players. Although Apex Coins can be purchased for real money, and 950 Apex Coins are worth about $10, the currency can also be earned in-game, and it has always been possible to earn enough Apex Coins from one Battle Pass to purchase the next. Players reacted with Rating bombardment Apex Legends on Steam; the recent reviews are now “overwhelmingly negative” and the game has received over 75,000 negative reviews in the last 30 days.
“They spoke and we listened,” Respawn said in a Note sent to X“With the release of Season 22, we will be restoring the ability to get the Premium Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins. We recognize that we could have handled the changes to the Battle Pass better – that’s on us.”
As an apology, Respawn said that the first Battle Pass of Season 22 would be virtually free and could be unlocked by “completing a series of simple in-game challenges.” The company also promised that starting in the second half of Season 22, it would again be possible to earn enough Apex Coins from one pass to get the next one.
However, Respawn has not reversed its decision to switch to two Battle Passes per season – effectively doubling the available rewards but also doubling the cost to players. The studio also kept the top tier of the Battle Pass, now known as Ultimate+, as a real-money-only purchase and costs $19.99. The developer released an infographic Details on the revised Battle Pass structure.
“We recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you going forward,” Respawn said, before promising action on other issues important to players such as cheaters, game stability, and quality of life updates. “We need to get better, and that’s why we recognize that [these issues] here,” the studio said.
Respawn promised that the first of these fixes would arrive along with Season 22 when it launches on August 6.
