72,632 'Overwhelmingly Negative' reviews later, EA walks back controversial Apex Legends battle pass changes: "You've spoken, and we've listened"

Apex Legends Catalyst
(Image credit: EA)

Earlier this month, EA and Respawn announced some big changes to the Apex Legends battle pass that quickly met with a loud, definitive pushback from players. Now, they're walking back the most controversial parts of the change.

"You’ve spoken, and we’ve listened," the devs say in a message on social media. "With the release of Season 22 we will restore the ability to get the Premium Battle Pass for 950 Apex Coins. We recognize that we could have handled the Battle Pass changes better - that's on us. It’s our intention to improve the overall value and experience across our Battle Pass offerings."

You've historically been able to use Apex Coins to purchase battle passes, which would then - assuming you played enough - allow you to earn enough Apex Coins to purchase the next season's battle pass. When these changes were first announced, battle passes were set to go to cash-only purchases, removing the ability to earn them in-game. Players quickly made their displeasure known, dropping 72,632 negative reviews on the Apex Legends Steam page since the news was announced.

We're going back to Apex Coins for the standard battle pass, but some of the changes are still going forward. There are still set to be two battle passes per season, so you'll be reupping twice as often. There are also new cash-only Ultimate ($9.99) and Ultimate+ ($19.99) that come with additional rewards. An extensive infographic aims to lay out all the details.

"Moving forward, we recognize that we need to be more timely, transparent, and consistent in our communications with you," the devs add. "Your priorities are our priorities: cheaters, game stability, and quality of life updates are top of mind. We need to get better and it's why we're acknowledging them here. As a next step, there are a number of improvements and game stability bug fixes coming in Season 22 that will be outlined in the Patch Notes dropping on August 5, 2024."

What'll be the last title standing among the best battle royale games?

Dustin Bailey
Staff Writer

Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.

Read more
League of Legends
Riot walks back controversial League of Legends changes: Hextech Chests, Exalted skins, and Blue Essence costs are all being reworked
Thor looking into the camera with a steely stare
Mere hours after enraging Marvel Rivals players with the announcement of a mid-season rank reset, NetEase Games quickly u-turns: "Players will retain their ranks and scores"
Apex Legends Control
Months after ruling out an Apex Legends 2, EA CEO says "an even bigger, more meaningful" Apex 2.0 is on the table after Battlefield 6
Arcane season 2
"We screwed up on this one," Riot admits, promising League of Legends updates for Blue Essence and Account XP amid player backlash
Junker Queen - Overwatch 2
2 years later, Overwatch 2 Steam reviews crawl back from 'Mostly Negative' thanks to its new perks and old loot boxes
League of Legends
As League of Legends players blast 800-hour grinds, Riot says this "wasn't meant to get harder" and "we messed up" on the whole First Blood thing too
Latest in Apex Legends
Apex Legends Control
Months after ruling out an Apex Legends 2, EA CEO says "an even bigger, more meaningful" Apex 2.0 is on the table after Battlefield 6
Lifeline looks into the camera with a smirk
After 5 years, Apex Legends is going back to the beginning with a Fortnite-style mode letting you experience the launch version of the battle royale FPS
Apex Legends
Apex Legends was a top 50 Steam Deck game, but EA's dropping Valve's handheld because it can't tell if those players are actually dirty cheating Linux users
Apex Legends Catalyst
72,632 'Overwhelmingly Negative' reviews later, EA walks back controversial Apex Legends battle pass changes: "You've spoken, and we've listened"
Apex Legends
EA announces Apex Legends is getting twice as many battle passes and you can no longer earn them in-game
Apex Legends
Apex Legends' new swimsuit skins have fans predictably down bad
Latest in News
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
A year after Malevelon Creek became Helldivers 2's fiercest battleground, it looks like the Automatons are coming back for more
Kurt Russell in The Thing holding a stick of dynamite.
43 years later, John Carpenter has hinted at who turns into The Thing in the horror movie and one eagle-eyed fan has worked it out
Amid Assassin's Creed Shadows' controversies, shrine popularized by Ghost of Tsushima bans all tourists after "unforgivable act of disrespect"
A WoW Classic player chased by a dinosaur in a green forest
"If this is just how it is, then yeah, that's the end": WoW Classic's most famous hardcore guild calls time for now after multiple raiders lose their MMO characters to DDoS attacks
Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried in Jennifer's Body
Star of cult hit Jennifer's Body says marketing "ruined" the horror movie's chances, but they may get another shot with a sequel 16 years later
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets unprecedented second update in 2 weeks, with a Steam page tweak pointing to a 2025 release