Apex Legends players are furious over new battle pass

polygon.com:

Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment announced last week it was overhauling its battle pass system with the start of the game’s 22nd season, set to begin in early August. To say the announcement went poorly would be an understatement: The player base is furious, and showing that anger by review-bombing Apex Legends on Steam.

Apex Legends’ recent review score has dropped to overwhelmingly negative after more than 24,000 negative reviews were posted in the first half of July. Why are players so mad? Respawn previously sold its seasonal battle passes once per season, for 950 Apex Coins (roughly $10) for the premium battle pass or 2,800 Apex Coins (a bit over $20) for the premium bundle pass. Starting with season 22, Apex Legends players will have to pay twice per season — $9.99 for premium or $19.99 for premium plus for each half of the season, effectively doubling the price. On top of that, the battle pass will no longer be purchasable with in-game currency, just real money. Apex Coins do cost real money, but you were previously able to earn the currency from completing the battle pass, meaning you could get the battle pass from just playing the game. The free tier, with less rewards, still exists.

Starting with Season 22, we’re evolving the Apex Legends Battle Pass to improve your experience and progression goals.

Read on to learn everything to know about the upcoming changes or check out the infographic below to learn more.

: https://t.co/kg5NhlFfVq pic.twitter.com/i516ktP9ma

Respawn said in its blog post that players can, however, earn “double the Battle Pass rewards across the entire season by completing both Battle Passes.” Players don’t see the added value, though — just nickel-and-diming. People with hundreds, even thousands, of hours in Apex Legends are sounding off in Steam reviews to express their displeasure: “Decisions to remove the sale of Battlepass for coins is unacceptable. I will never launch this garbage again,” one person wrote. Another