It’s been a turbulent July for Apex Legends as the popular free-to-play shooter faces significant backlash from its player base. The controversy centres on recent changes to the game’s monetization scheme, which introduced two battle passes that cannot be purchased with in-game currency. This shift has incited a wave of negative feedback, resulting in a massive review bombing campaign on Steam.
In the past week alone, Apex Legends has received nearly 30,000 negative reviews, driving its recent Steam rating to a troubling “Overwhelmingly Negative.” Although the game’s overall rating remains at a “Mostly Positive” level, only 15% of the reviews in the last 30 days have been favourable. The intensity of the backlash shows no signs of waning; over 4,400 negative reviews were posted in the past 24 hours.
The primary grievance among players is the controversial battle pass changes. One disgruntled reviewer lamented, “Titanfall 2 had to die for this battle pass money grab bs?” Another long-time player, with 2,650 hours logged since the first season, expressed disillusionment, stating, “This might be the end of this journey.”
This isn’t the first time players have used review bombing as a tactic to express their dissatisfaction. In the past, such efforts have yielded results. The Helldivers PC community successfully avoided mandatory PSN account sign-ups through concerted negative reviews, and Team Fortress 2 fans managed to prompt anti-bot measures from Valve. However, not all campaigns have been as effective, as seen with the Shadow of the Erdtree difficulty complaints, which achieved little more than highlighting the issue.
As Apex Legends grapples with this backlash, it remains to be seen whether the developers will respond to the community’s concerns or if the negative sentiment will continue to mount.
