EA has announced a new change to Apex Legends monetization, that has already angered its fanbase.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the big complaint is that Respawn has removed the ability to earn the Premium Battle Pass for free. Like other live service games, Apex Legends is structured with a free and paid battle pass tier. If you play long enough and earn enough of the in-game currency, you can cover the cost of the paid battle pass with in-game currency.
Now, before we dismiss this as outright greed, let’s review what other changes EA are making, since this isn’t happening in a void. EA is now offering two battle passes per season, so that players can more easily finish them to earn the final reward.
EA has a premium + tier on top of the premium tier, and they’re now lowering the cost of that tier. So players who were already high rollers on the game won’t have to pay as much anymore. Lastly, EA has updated their rewards across the board, so all players get more out of the pass, on all levels.
Here’s how EA justifies the price changes in their announcement:
“Cost is another aspect that we’ve been reevaluating. To up the value going forward, each Premium Track Battle Pass will cost $9.99 USD* and will come with the rewards expanded on above.
The decision to move from AC to real world currency is not one that we made lightly, but it does allow us to decrease the price of Premium+ for our community.
The new Premium+ Battle Pass comes in at $19.99 USD* and offers additional value; a cost difference of ~29% when compared to the discontinued Premium Battle Pass Bundle at 2800 AC.
And what happens if you buy the Battle Pass, then unlock it? We’ve got you: you’ll be refunded 1,000 AC.”
EA also says they will review feedback and this update itself is subject to change. But in our estimation, EA wants to transition everyone to be a paying player. And that may reflect changing priorities for the company.
Now, the general idea is that live service games can be played for free, because the game companies want to build big communities, and that will entice the big spenders to come in, and then spend big. Free players may not like to read this, but those playing free are complicit in building a situation where those whales, or big spenders, are easily parted from their money.
One can say that live service players are usually adults, or supervised by adults, and they can decide how they spend their money. This is true, but these are also the kinds of arguments made by people who want to justify bringing their friends to casinos.
EA may no longer want to draw in those free players because Apex Legends has enough paying customers to build a community on their own. Apex Legends remains free to play, but EA does know this choice will lead to people leaving the game.
They’re willing to take these risks, because they want most players to pay less. If nearly everyone is paying money, they can lower that price ceiling to be as fair to everyone as possible.
Will this make Apex Legends a better game overall? It remains to be seen. If there is enough uproar, EA may have to roll it back before trying.
But with competitors like Rainbow Six Siege announcing a subscription alongside a battle pass, for a game that still is not free to play, it’s clear that these monetization models are getting more exploitative. It’s ironic to think about, but EA’s proposal could actually roll those exploitative practices back.
We don’t even know if EA will get to try this experiment out, and if not, maybe another developer will try down the line. But it will certainly be interesting to see if they get enough players on board so that we actually see how it plays out.
