Home Apex Legends hits ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ on Steam after player backlash

Apex Legends hits ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ on Steam after player backlash

TL:DR

  • Apex Legends' Steam rating drops to 'Overwhelmingly Negative' after player backlash.
  • Players angry over new policy requiring two Battle Passes per season, both costing real money.
  • Recent reviews: 32,321 'Overwhelmingly Negative,' around 18% of total reviews in last 30 days.

Apex Legends’ category on Steam has tanked down to ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ after facing player backlash.

Apex Legends recently announced its controversial plans to introduce two Battle Passes per season and add the requirement that players have to buy them both with real money.

Previously, an Apex Battle Pass used to cost 1,000 Apex Coins, setting you back $9.99 and offering the chance to earn coins throughout to have some in-game funds to put towards the next one. In comparison to other Battle Pass systems, it was a relatively good one and certainly one that fans were used to.

The change has been controversial to say the least, sparking fury among fans of the game.

This is most keenly felt if you look at Apex Legends’ review status on Steam. Despite having 864,953 ‘Mostly Positive’ reviews, the recent reviews have a massive 32,321 ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ reviews in the last 30 days.

That has pushed the game into that lower category temporarily, equating to roughly 18% of recent reviews being classed as ‘Overwhelmingly Negative,’ according to Siege.

Is Apex Legends the new Helldivers 2?

It’s not the first time that a community has banded together to let their displeasure be heard. Just a couple of months ago, Sony forced Helldivers 2 players to get a PSN account, blocking access to many users and sparking outrage online.

This also resulted in review bombing and ultimately a reversal of the policy. In a surprisingly rational move, fans then started pushing the community to undo the review bomb.

In this case, it’s clear that game developers do listen to players on occasion — and probably when their voices are loud enough to tank listings on game stores. Safe to say, Respawn and the team at Apex Legends will be well aware of what fans think about the change to Battle Passes. Whether that will result in the change that fans want, remains to be seen.

Featured image: Respawn Entertainment

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Rachael Davies
Freelance Journalist

Rachael Davies has spent six years reporting on tech and entertainment, writing for publications like the Evening Standard, Huffington Post, Dazed, and more. From niche topics like the latest gaming mods to consumer-faced guides on the latest tech, she puts her MA in Convergent Journalism to work, following avenues guided by a variety of interests. As well as writing, she also has experience in editing as the UK Editor of The Mary Sue , as well as speaking on the important of SEO in journalism at the Student Press Association National Conference. You can find her full portfolio over on…