In the shooter Apex Legends , the developer Respawn has apologized for the skins in the new event “Iron Crown”. The cosmetic items were only available in loot boxes, and players had to rely on luck. Now Respawn is bringing 12 of the skins to the shop. However, they are quite expensive.
What was the problem? When the “Iron Crown” event started, players quickly became frustrated. There were now 24 new skins for legends and weapons in the game, but they were only available through loot boxes. Players did not know which of the new skins they would get when they bought a box for 700 Apex Coins, about 7 €.
A special skin for Bloodhound was only available to those who purchased all 24 skins from the boxes and then spent another 3500 coins. As a result, this special skin cost 190 euros.
What particularly upset people was that they had to buy loot boxes even if they only wanted a specific skin for their favorite character. This quickly creates the feeling that one is drawing a lot of duds and wasting money on something they do not want at all. The protests from players have been considerable in recent days.
Respawn: We have broken our promise
This is what Respawn says now: The developer Respawn has now commented on the situation in a blog post, addressing the situation and announcing changes for the next week. It states:
With this event, Respawn has failed to meet its goal of creating a world-class game. Respawn has broken its promise by making the loot box the only way to obtain the skins that many consider to be the coolest skins in Apex Legends.
Respawn apologizes for this and says it is learning a lot about what it is like to operate a free-to-play game live. They need to communicate more clearly and set expectations better.
Respawn emphasizes that they do not sell advantages in Apex Legends. They state that the money earned from such events is used to create more content, which is then free for the players.
1800 coins for direct purchase – 700 for loot box
This is changing now: Starting August 20, 12 legendary skins will be available in the shop for 1800 coins each, the “normal price for legendary skins.” They can be purchased directly.
Players can also continue to purchase loot boxes for 700 coins.
In the future, they want to ensure that events always provide a way to purchase skins without players having to go through loot boxes.
When will which skins be available?
- Pathfinder, Lifeline, Wraith, Wattson, and Alternator are available from August 20 to August 22
- Gibraltar, Mirage, Bloodhound, R-99, RE-45 are available from August 22 to August 25
- Peacekeeper, G7, Pathfinder, Lifeline, Wraith – available from August 25 to August 27 – some skins will be in the shop for the second time
Players blame EA, find skins expensive
This is how players are reacting: On reddit , the mood is rather negative. There is a lot of bad blood against EA. Players accuse EA of treating each of their players in a way that they want to squeeze money out of them.
They are preparing themselves to also take to the streets in the future.
Another user points out that for the approximately 20€ that a skin in Apex Legends costs, one can get full-fledged games like Borderlands 2, Overwatch, Doom, Rainbow Six Siege, or a Game Pass that includes many other games.
In general, players find the skin prices in Apex Legends to be high.
