EA and Respawn have decided to walk back on the controversial changes to the premium battle pass of Apex Legends announced on July 9, which made Premium and Premium+ tiers exclusive to real-life currency.
The problem behind the initial decision was that players would be forced to spend real money to acquire the paid tiers, instead of having the option to buy them with Apex Coins.
Many players would buy one premium battle pass, level it up to obtain all the AC available, and use that to buy the next one without spending more money. The changes would have eliminated that method.
One week after the announced battle pass changes, which would have gone into effect with Season 22, the game gathered over 30,000 negative reviews on Steam, which saw it fall to the "Overwhelmingly Negative" status.
EA and Respawn have accepted defeat and according to the newest post on the game's X account (formerly Twitter), here's how the battle passes will evolve during the next couple of months:
- With the launch of Season 22 on August 6th through Split 1, players will be able to unlock the premium battle pass by "completing a series of simple in-game challenges."
- With the arrival of Season 22 Split 2, players will be able to "get the premium battle passes the same way as before: by using 950 Apex Coins." Additionally, the announcement states that players will "be able to earn enough Apex Coins via the Battle Pass to get future passes."
Last but not least, Respawn admitted that "the Battle Pass options now include better rewards—and with the re-tuned Battle Pass challenges, it'll be faster to complete at only 60 levels."
With the upcoming changes to the Premium Battle Pass system, players can obtain up to 1,300 Apex Coins from the Premium, Ultimate, and Premium+ passes. While some players have welcomed the changes with open arms, the truth is that not everyone is happy, as some people have noticed the lack of reactive weapons on the graphic.
Players will be able to see how the premium battle pass changes are deployed to the game starting on August 6, with the launch of Season 22. Keep checking Siege.GG for more information about Apex Legends and other FPS titles!