The Apex Legends Loot Box Controversy – Has Respawn Gone Too Far?
Apex’s newest event “Iron Crown” dropped yesterday, and while players were at first ecstatic at the chance to try the new Solos Mode and get their hands on some sick new skins, the euphoria quickly turned to anger and frustration at the difficulty in acquiring the new skins. In fact, many from the community are wondering if this new Apex Legends loot box pricing model is a death knell for the game.
Making it Rain Loot boxes
Instead of the items being available in the shop on release, as they usually are, players are forced to spend 700 Apex Coins ($7) on an Apex Legends loot box for a chance at getting the cosmetic you want.
While that in and of itself is irksome enough, it gets worse when you realize there are 24 items in the boxes, and since each box only rolls a single item, players may have to buy multiple packs to get the item they want.
While you can get two for free just by playing the game (albeit after quite a large time commitment), you’ll have to purchase the rest, meaning you can spend up to $154 just trying to roll the item you’re looking for.
It’s even worse for players looking to get the exclusive Bloodhound Heirloom set from the event, as you’ll need to unlock all of the Iron Crown items before you’re even allowed to buy it for $30.
Yes, you read that correctly, you have to spend roughly $154 on loot boxes just to given permission to spend even more money on an item set.
The decision to gate these items behind the loot crate system has sparked outrage across the Apex community, with many calling the move greedy and very EA-esque in design, referencing the loot crate system EA utilized at launch for Star Wars Battlefront II.
Others questioned why Respawn needed to squeeze so much out of their game’s community when new content outside of cosmetics seems to only pop up once in a blue moon, citing the addition of only two new characters and a handful of new guns since the game launched earlier this year.
Many of these folks have vocalized their disappointment with how the game has been handled by the often lauded developer, pointing to the slow pace of content added as the major reason for the games decline. Of course, the Apex Legends loot box controversy certainly doesn’t help either.
Respawn paying streamers to play Apex on stream both during its launch and the addition of Solos has only added fuel to this argumental-fire, with many calling on the developer to stop trying to attract new players and focus on content to keep the already existing playerbase.
Respawn has yet to respond to the community backlash at this time, but we’ll continue to keep you updated as the situation develops.
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