Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment has announced that it will be reverting the controversial Battle Pass changes it revealed to fans earlier this month. The company has outlined how these changes will be implemented from the beginning of Season 22 Split 1 in August 2024.
Instead of being forced to pay real-world cash, either $10 or $20 for the Premium Battle Pass and a version with a bundle of levels, Apex Legends players will be able to spend Apex Coins to get it, as they always have. From the start of Season 22 Split 1 on August 6, 2024, all players can unlock the season’s first Battle Pass by completing a series of in-game challenges. The season’s second-half Battle Pass will then be purchasable for 950 Apex Coins from September 17, 2024.
Real currency or Apex Coins, you can get the Battle Pass either way
The developer announced this reversion of its changes on Twitter not long after the Apex Legends community expressed its feelings about the upcoming pricing changes.
In early July 2024, Respawn Entertainment announced a few changes to how the Premium Battle Pass in Apex Legends would be working. Instead of being able to purchase the Premium Battle Pass with the in-game currency Apex Coins, players would soon have to pay real-world cash to get one for every half of a season.
Players were understandably upset by this. In the past, you could purchase, say, 1,000 Apex Coins, grab the Premium Battle Pass for 950 of them, and then earn back 1,000 Apex Coins by completing the Premium Battle Pass. This meant you’d have enough to buy the next season’s Premium Battle Pass as long as you played enough Apex Legends to complete every rank of the previous season’s.
Respawn Entertainment has also highlighted exactly what’s included in every tier of Premium Battle Pass from Season 22 onward. While there are still versions that can only be purchased using real-world money, the standard Premium Battle Pass can be accessed using Apex Coins.
In this post, Respawn Entertainment highlights its faults, voicing that it realizes the community is concerned about the cheating that’s recently run rampant in Apex Legends and a few other issues. On August 5, 2024, a set of patch notes will drop detailing what the developer is doing to combat these problems instead of shying away from them.
The game’s Premium Battle Pass rewarding enough currency to purchase the next season’s is similar to how the Rift Pass works in Dead by Daylight. Provided players are dedicated enough, they effectively get a “free” Premium Battle Pass.
But most people know that games cost money to make and maintain. Respawn Entertainment has pledged to be more transparent and communicative in the future regarding these matters, which I think will definitely help avoid similarly tumultuous situations.
