8 Times Video Game Developers Publicly Insulted Their Players
2. Respawn Flames Apex Legends Players After Loot Box Controversy
Apex Legends is a fantastic game, but its monetization and storefront are absolutely terrible. The main way to unlock cosmetics - be it a costume or kill quip - is to hedge your bets and buy some loot boxes, meaning that you could end up spending hundreds of pounds before you get something you actually like.
This is how the game has been since launch, and it didn't look like it could get any worse - until the recent Iron Crown event came along.
This event came with its own set of limited-time cosmetics, and to unlock them all, you needed to spend an insane amount of cash. The only way to get everything was to buy shiny new Iron Crown Packs valued at a staggering 700 in-game coins, meaning that a single pack would set you back £7.99 - the cost of the 1000-coin bundle.
There wasn't even a way to guarantee what your pack would contain. You could end up getting a cool legendary skin, or something as mundane as a music track. And since each pack contained just a single item, you would have to spend over £150 to unlock all the new cosmetics, with an extra £30 on top to snag Bloodhound's Heirloom set.
This egregious pricing model didn't sit well with fans, and almost as soon as the event launched, the game's official subreddit was flooded with posts slating Respawn and EA for their scummy tactics.
Eventually, Respawn was forced to comment - only, when they did, they didn't exactly do so in a professional manner. Players were referred to as "ass-hats", "freeloaders", and "d***s", with the ass-hats comment currently sitting at over 3500 downvotes. Respawn CEO Vince Zampella then responded on Twitter, saying that his employees' actions "crossed a line", and that the company would do better in future.
The Iron Crown monetization was absolutely ridiculous, and players had every right to be upset. Respawn should have played this one a bit more coolly, even if they did feel hurt by the backlash against the prices, which - knowing EA - probably wasn't even their fault.