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Apex Legends’ new Battle Pass plans promise greater rewards, but for more of your real-world moneyNo more Apex Coin freebies
No more Apex Coin freebies
Image credit:EA
Image credit:EA
In apostdetailing BP-specific changes to expect in Apex’s upcoming Season 22, publishers EA announced that the Premium Battle Pass will, from Season 22 onward, only be sold for $10 in real-world cash – a major change from previous passes, that were buyable with in-game currency that could be earned through play. There’ll also be two separate Premium Battle Passes per season, taking the total cost per-season to $20. Cue outrage, the game’ssubredditfilling in minutes with players announcing their immediate uninstall.
Now that the Premium Battle Pass is going cash-only, that self-funding cycling is broken, and what replaces it ain’t cheap. At $10 a pop, with two per season and usually four seasons in a year, that’s an annual cost of $80 – just four bucks shy of a standard Netflix sub. For skins and taunts. Yeesh.
Image credit:EA/Respawn Entertainment
That’s cool and all – more crafting materials is a good way to gain the specific unlockables you want, offsetting the randomness of Apex Packs – but even as someone whose interest inApex Legendswas onlyrecently rekindled, I wouldn’t pay ten quid for even twice as many cosmetics. Not when I’ve spent the past five years getting Battle Passes who what felt like nada.
From a player standpoint, though… hmmmmm. We can get as snooty as we want about the cosmetic-based concept of Battle Passes, but it’s a fact that they incentivise play, through the simple pleasures of seeing a level counter tick up as much as the desire for the cosmetics themselves. Erecting a higher paywall for them can and will remove this source of progression, and with it, the ability to feel like you’re getting wins even when you’re eating shit in the actual arena. That’s surely not good for Apex Legends’ health, even if it does prove good for its coffers.
