Apex Legends Players Furious Over Major Changes

"Fortnite" recently entered its most controversial season, and now another multiplayer game is following its lead with some major changes. EA just pushed forward the most unpopular overhaul in "Apex Legends" history, totally reworking the game's Battle Pass system for Season 22. Up until now, a single Battle Pass lasted for an entire season, cost $9.99, and could also be purchased with Apex Coins that players could earn in-game. Moving forward, "Apex Legends" is splitting its Battle Pass in half. Now the $9.99 pass lasts for half a season, for 60 levels instead of 110. There's also a new Premium+ battle pass that costs $19.99 and includes extra level skips, exotic shards, and skin variants. Assuming you always buy the biggest and best package available, your typical cost for a season of "Apex Legends" just jumped from $10 – or $0 if you earned enough Apex Coins – to $39.98. Oh, and you can no longer pay for the Pass with Apex Coins.

When it announced the changes, EA pitched this new system as being a solid win for players, explaining, "You'll now earn double the Battle Pass rewards across the entire season by completing both Battle Passes." Many "Apex Legends" players don't see things the same way, however. Tons of players are uninstalling, leaving bad Steam reviews, and calling on others to boycott the game entirely.

It didn't take long for the new Battle Pass system to send the "Apex Legends" playerbase into a full revolt. At the time of this writing, the game's Steam reviews have dropped to "Mixed" as dozens of negative reviews slamming the new system have started to pile up. The "Apex Legends" Reddit page is also filled with thread after thread of players complaining about the changes and discussing what to do about them.

If these threads are to be believed, people are uninstalling the game in droves. One commenter wrote, "It's inexcusable and tone deaf to ramp up how much you nickel and dime your player base while refusing to address the many issues the game currently has." Others pointed out that this change is coming when many players are still struggling with cheaters and servers issues running rampant in the game. Meanwhile, Twitch streamer KingMandrill expressed his intention to mostly leave "Apex Legends" behind after the Battle Pass changes roll out.

Fans are beyond unhappy, but that might not be enough to get EA to reverse course. "Helldivers 2" fans managed to change Sony's mind (for the most part) when they review-bombed and uninstalled the game, and EA has a history of apologizing when its business decisions rub fans the wrong way. However, it's unclear if "Apex Legends" players will see the same results.