Apex Legends dev faces backlash following update to Iron Crown monetization
EAFans on the Apex Legends subreddit are extremely unhappy about the responses one Respawn developer, in particular, has been giving following the microtransaction changes for the Iron Crown event.
Respawn took a lot of negative feedback following the start of the Iron Crown event, with most of that criticism aimed at the price of microtransactions.
For example, Bloodhound’s Heirloom Axe required players to get all the cosmetics from the event, and then pay an extra fee on top of it.
Apex devs apologized for their monetization but fans aren’t happy.Respawn defended their position by saying a mistake was made, but many fans aren’t buying that and are answering back with inflammatory responses.
This is nothing new, but the developers are holding their ground, and some fans have argued a line has been crossed.
A comment by Respawn developer Drew McCoy says most of the players are “freeloaders” and that hasn’t sat well with the fans.
“There is a wealth of data available on how monetization works in free-to-play games, and we ourselves have run tests by putting skins on sale in the store,” the developer wrote. “The amount of people who spend is crazy low, most of ya’ll are freeloaders (and we love that!) and a change in price doesn’t move the needle.
The comment has received 282 downvotes at the time of writing with many fans saying this is a result of microtransaction costs being too high, but the developer says that’s the reality of things.
Apex Legends devs are facing major backlash.“Don’t know what to tell you dude – the data is very clear,” he wrote in a comment with 49 downvotes. “We would make substantially less money, to the point where the game might not be viable.”
Respawn spent a lot of time responding to fans on Reddit following the backlash, but it just so happens they don’t like what they are hearing.
Numerous threads have popped up on the Apex subreddit criticizing the response and one even asking if it’s okay to talk about the “rudeness” and “toxicity” of McCoy.
It’s clear the botched launch of the Iron Crown event has created a rift between the developers and fanbase and it could take a while to heal.
A post with over 2,000 upvotes criticizes Respawn’s apology, and there are many smaller posts echoing the same thing.
EA went through this with the launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2 and their “sense of pride and accomplishment” comment which became the most downvoted response in the history of Reddit.
Since then, Battlefront 2 has rebounded and completely retooled itself, even winning back many fans on Reddit. Time will tell if the same thing will happen with Apex Legends.