Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Earlier this month, EA and Respawn had an idea to revamp the way that Apex Legends Battle Passes were purchased. There was an idea to cut out the middleman and have users purchase the Battle Passes only with real money, cutting out the premium in-game currency option. This did not go over well and led to outrage from the Apex Legends player base. Following weeks of this backlash, EA and Respawn have reversed course and will revert the Battle Pass to its previous system.
The following was posted to the Apex Legends website:
To Our Apex Community:
You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened. 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.
It’s our intention to improve the overall value and experience across our Battle Pass offerings. For a summary of the updated Battle Pass offerings starting with Season 22 Split 2 on September 17th, please check out the infographic. Here's what we'd like you to know:
- With the launch of Season 22 on August 6th through Split 1, we want to give you an opportunity to get the Premium Battle Pass. You can unlock it by completing a series of simple in-game challenges.
- Starting with Split 2 on September 17th, you can get the Premium Battle Passes the same way as before: by using 950 Apex Coins. You’ll be able to earn enough Apex Coins via the Battle Pass to get future passes.
- The Battle Pass options now include better rewards—and with the re-tuned Battle Pass challenges, it'll be faster to complete at only 60 levels.
Moving forward, we recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you. Your priorities are our priorities: cheaters, game stability, and quality of life updates are top of mind. We need to get better and it's why we're acknowledging them here. As a next step, there are a number of improvements and game stability bug fixes coming in Season 22 that will be outlined in the Patch Notes dropping on August 5, 2024.
Thank you again for all of your passion and time in Apex Legends, because we couldn’t do this without you.
Referring back to our Apex Legends currency guide, we can explain for the uninitiated that Apex Coins are a premium currency. They are mainly purchased with real money and some additional coins are given for free with larger bundle purchases. While they can purchased in-game, they can also be purchased through various PC and console storefronts and can sometimes go on sale.
While Apex Coins can be used to purchase Legends and cosmetics, most players have used theirs on the premium Battle Pass, which sells for 950 Apex Coins. What especially stung about the original Respawn announcement was that some Apex Coins could be earned through completing the game's Battle Passes. Essentially, this decision made Apex Coins worth slightly less by removing one of the biggest ways to spend them. Respawn appears to have course corrected by offering the Premium Battle Pass exclusively for Apex Coins, while an equal Ultimate Battle Pass will go for the same real-money equivalent with the latter offering an instant reward.
This entire fiasco was an unfortunate chapter for Apex Legends, which is in the middle of its five-year anniversary celebration. Hopefully, the team and players can now move forward as the Upheaval season reaches its final few weeks. We'll continue to watch for the latest to come from Apex Legends, so keep it here on Shacknews for more updates.