Video Games

Apex Legends reverts key battle pass change after player outcry

Premium Battle Pass available via Apex Coins once more

Marco Wutz

EA

Respawn Entertainment and EA have changed their minds in regards to the controversial Apex Legends battle pass changes they recently announced. A key issue with the proposed changes was the fact that players could no longer purchase the Premium Battle Pass with Apex Coins, an in-game currency that can be earned through playing. This way, players could buy the Battle Pass with real money one time and then continue to purchase its successors with the virtual currency they earned from it – a loop that satisfied them and kept engagement high.

Under Respawn and EA’s planned changes, players would have been forced to buy every Battle Pass with real money – and they would have had to double dip, since every season will feature two passes instead of one.

After the public outcry about this, the companies seemingly changed their mind: Going forward, the Premium Battle Pass will be available for 950 Apex Coins – and as has been the case until now, that amount can be earned in the game from the previous Battle Pass. Furthermore, one Premium Battle Pass will be unlockable for free starting on August 6, 2024, with Season 22 of the battle royale game. All players will have to do is complete a few in-game challenges.

The Premium and Ultimate Battle Pass (the latter is available for $9.99 USD) will both contain the same number of unlockable rewards through gameplay after the restructuring, though the Ultimate version adds a bunch of instant unlocks on top. There will also be an Ultimate+ tier, which comes with more Exotic Shards, instant unlocks, and exclusive Legendary Variants.

Respawn and EA emphasized that each Premium version of the Battle Pass contains at least one Reactive Weapon or Variant, Legendary Weapon Skin, and Legendary Character Skin.

“We recognize that we could have handled the Battle Pass changes better – that’s on us,” the official statement accompanying this information said. “It’s our intention to improve the overall value and experience across our Battle Pass offerings.”

In addition, the developers promised to be “more timely, transparent, and consistent” in their communications with players. “Your priorities are our priorities,” they stated.

Published
Marco Wutz
MARCO WUTZ

Marco Wutz is a writer from Parkstetten, Germany. He has a degree in Ancient History and a particular love for real-time and turn-based strategy games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, Total War, Age of Wonders, Crusader Kings, and Civilization as well as a soft spot for Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. He began covering StarCraft 2 as a writer in 2011 for the largest German community around the game and hosted a live tournament on a stage at gamescom 2014 before he went on to work for Bonjwa, one of the country's biggest Twitch channels. He branched out to write in English in 2015 by joining tl.net, the global center of the StarCraft scene run by Team Liquid, which was nominated as the Best Coverage Website of the Year at the Esports Industry Awards in 2017. He worked as a translator on The Crusader Stands Watch, a biography in memory of Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka, and provided live coverage of many StarCraft 2 events on the social channels of tl.net as well as DreamHack, the world's largest gaming festival. From there, he transitioned into writing about the games industry in general after his graduation, joining GLHF, a content agency specializing in video games coverage for media partners across the globe, in 2021. He has also written for NGL.ONE, kicker, ComputerBild, USA Today's ForTheWin, The Sun, Men's Journal, and Parade. Email: marco.wutz@glhf.gg

Home/News