The Real Reason Apex Legends Skins Are So Expensive

Competitive games often feature expensive skins that add some limited edition flair to gamers' avatars. "Apex Legends" has some of the most expensive skins available, and now its developer has explained why it's so difficult to bring those costs down.

During a recent Reddit AMA, a curious fan asked if Respawn Entertainment had any plans to decrease the price of cosmetic skins in "Apex Legends." Currently, the fan said, most skins cost between $18 and $20, which is tough ask for players who may want to purchase multiple skins or who don't see cosmetic changes as valuable. The director of monetization for "Apex Legends" fired back with a detailed response, listing out several reasons why "Apex Legends" won't be decreasing the price of skins in the future.

The dev offered four main reasons why skins will remain pricy in "Apex Legends." First, Respawn aims to be "gameplay first," meaning that Respawn earns money from things like cosmetics and not for "pay to win" type power-ups. Therefore, the company has to earn money somehow, and skins are a big part of the developers' revenue stream. Secondly, fans often just see cost and don't consider the work and time that goes into creating a skin. "It's more expensive than people think in terms of number of people and hours because people don't factor in tons of back and forth on concept, QA, ideation, creation, etc.," the monetization director said.

At the end of the day, of course, Respawn needs "Apex Legends" to be profitable. "There's a lot we want to give, but we can't do that unless we're a healthy business at the end of the day," the post explained. Without making money, Respawn can't continue to pay its staff and continue developing "Apex Legends." 

The final reason provided for the price of skins was rewards. Devs claim that many high level rewards are already available in game, just through regular play, so skins are seen as an optional bonus. Players can still get cool stuff without paying extra for it, so there's a little something for everyone.

Understandably, not all fans were too pleased with this response. "This sounds like a non-answer," one fan said. "You said a lot, but nothing actually touched on a yes or no answer to the actual questions." While it makes sense that Respawn must pay its staff and make the game fair for all players, some gamers feel that the $20 price point hasn't been entirely explained.

"Apex Legends" features some of the rarest skins in the gaming world, many of which have become hot topics of conversation among players. No matter what happens on the skin market, players continue to demand more from developers and the practice of cosmetics in general.