Apex Legends developer Respawn has backed down in the face of intense player displeasure and scrapped its plan to make the game’s battle pass purchasable with real money only.
Early in July, the developer announced a restructured battle pass that was to start alongside the game’s next season, season 22. In the plan, there would be a new battle pass every half-season, rather than every season, and Respawn would remove the option to buy a battle pass with 950 Apex Coins, the game’s premium currency. The new cost would be $9.99.
It was the latter change that particularly angered players. Although Apex Coins can be bought for real money (950 Apex Coins are worth around $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 buy the next one. Players responded by review-bombing Apex Legends on Steam; recent reviews are now “overwhelmingly negative,” and the game has been hit with more than 75,000 negative reviews in the past 30 days.
“You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened,” Respawn said in a note posted to X. “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.”
By way of apology, Respawn said it would also make the first season 22 battle pass effectively free, unlockable by “completing a series of simple in-game challenges.” It also pledged that, from the second half of season 22, it would once again be possible to earn enough Apex Coins from one pass to get the next one.
Respawn did not reverse its decision to move to two battle passes per season, however — effectively doubling the available rewards, but doubling the cost to players, too. The studio also kept the top tier of battle pass, now known as Ultimate+, as a real-money-only purchase priced at $19.99. The developer published an infographic detailing the revised battle pass structure.
“Moving forward, we recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you,” Respawn said, before pledging 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’re acknowledging [these issues] here,” the studio said.
Respawn promised the first of these fixes would drop alongside season 22 when it launches on Aug. 6.
