72,632 'Overwhelmingly Negative' reviews later, EA walks back controversial Apex Legends battle pass changes: "You've spoken, and we've listened"

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Understanding the new battle pass still requires an infographic, however

Apex Legends Catalyst
(Image credit: EA)

Earlier this month, EA and Respawn announced some big changes to the Apex Legends battle pass that quickly met with a loud, definitive pushback from players. Now, they're walking back the most controversial parts of the change.

"You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened," the devs say in a message on social media. "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."

You've historically been able to use Apex Coins to purchase battle passes, which would then - assuming you played enough - allow you to earn enough Apex Coins to purchase the next season's battle pass. When these changes were first announced, battle passes were set to go to cash-only purchases, removing the ability to earn them in-game. Players quickly made their displeasure known, dropping 72,632 negative reviews on the Apex Legends Steam page since the news was announced.

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We're going back to Apex Coins for the standard battle pass, but some of the changes are still going forward. There are still set to be two battle passes per season, so you'll be reupping twice as often. There are also new cash-only Ultimate ($9.99) and Ultimate+ ($19.99) that come with additional rewards. An extensive infographic aims to lay out all the details.

"Moving forward, we recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you," the devs add. "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."

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Dustin Bailey
Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.