The latest EA update to Apex Legends battle pass has earned the game an overwhelmingly negative rating on Steam.
Apex Legends was a surprise hit, coming out of nowhere and dominating the charts. Developer Respawn Entertainment struck gold with the free-to-play battle royale title and raked in record profits for the publisher. However, the game has been a hotbed for EA’s monetization experiments, most landing as severely as expected. In the past, Apex Legends has endured controversies surrounding monetization and microtransactions. It has seen everything from expensive collections to paywalled cosmetics. The latest change, however, has hit the community harder than EA would have anticipated.
Here’s why Apex Legends fans are review bombing the game on Steam all the way down to overwhelmingly negative.
The biggest reason Apex Legends receives negative reviews on Steam is the change to the battle pass.
The recent battle pass changes in Apex Legends require players to pay up instead of grinding for Apex Coins and earning them for free. Previously, players could play the game and earn Apex Coins, an in-game currency, to purchase the battle pass. The new change requires players to buy the battle pass with real money instead of earned in-game currency.
Apex Legends: Upheaval Gameplay Trailer
The new controversial decision by Respawn Entertainment received negative feedback from gamers. While the developers are implementing new features like cross-platform progression, there are plenty of reasons to dislike the battle pass changes. The new premium battle pass, which is now split into two, requires $10 more to purchase. Previously, the premium battle pass would run players $30 for a season. Now, it’s hiked to $40.
Thanks to recent changes to the battle pass, Apex Legends has received over 25,000 negative reviews on Steam alone.
As expected, most negative reviews blame the new battle pass for the rating. The game has received over 33,000 negative reviews in just a month, a staggering amount. Only 17% of the recent reviews are favorable for the game. With plenty of game-breaking bugs, controller supremacy, and hacking already plaguing the game, monetization changes seem to be the last straw.
EA and Respawn claimed this change would bring more content to the players faster. However, the community has other sentiments and has expressed them using Steam reviews. The official social media post announcing the change has a community note claiming this move “is only profitable for EA Shareholders.” EA and Respawn Entertainment have yet to address the issues.
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