Iron Crown, Apex Legend’s new limited-time event, was launched last week. It brought with it a solo mode and a number of cosmetic items that were only purchasable with Apex Coins. There were 24 Iron Crown packs in total, meaning it would cost a whopping $154 to acquire them all, assuming you got very lucky. After the inevitable backlash, Respawn has now issued an apology and made some changes to the event.
The statement opens with Respawn admitting that they broke their own promise to “do monetization in a way that felt fair and provided choice to players on how they spent their money and time.”
The way the Iron Crown event worked felt doubly unfair to disgruntled players due to the gambling-style mechanics of their purchases. All the new skins and other items were locked in Iron Crown event packs, which generated random loot once opened.
The backlash was fierce, with many players taking to the Apex Legends subreddit to express their anger and disappointment. Many claimed, of course, that it was big, bad villain EA who was responsible for the money gouging, playing into their role as an evil corporate entity.
The fact remains that, regardless of who made the choice, it was a bad one and, now, Respawn is trying to make things right, kind of. Beginning on August 20th they are going to add and rotate the 12 Legendary skins into the main store over the course of this last week. Once in-store, they will be purchasable for 1,800 Apex Coins.
The statement goes on to say that future events will allow items to be obtained in different ways, not just by buying Apex Packs.
Drew McCoy, who posted the update, also spoke about the need to keep players better informed. Respawn stresses that it is still learning about operating a free-to-play live service and is always seeking to improve the game.
He states that the "goal has not been to squeeze every last dime out of our players, and we have structured the game so that all players benefit from those who choose to spend money - events like Legendary Hunt or Iron Crown exist so that we can continue to invest in creating more free content for all players.”
It remains to be seen how much Respawn learns but it’s great to see them take responsibility for their mistakes.
The Iron Crown event is now live in-game and runs until August 27th.