Summary
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Respawn Entertainment failed to expand Apex Legends beyond Battle Royale 2024 as promised.
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After EA's CEO hyped significant changes for 2024, players were left disappointed when the promises were not fulfilled.
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2024 was a rocky year for Apex Legends, marked by controversial changes such as the battle pass and changes to game modes, along with issues involving cheaters.
Developer Respawn Entertainment failed to keep its promise to fans to expand Apex Legends beyond the traditional battle royale formula in 2024. At the start of 2024, EA's CEO announced that significant changes are coming to Apex Legends which never materialized, disappointing players.
Apex Legends is a free-to-play battle royale hero shooter that gained significant popularity upon its release. The game offered an interesting take on the battle royale formula, and was praised by players and critics alike. Although the game has a large player base, things have been rocky for it Apex Legends in recent years. In July, the developer made a controversial change to the battle pass system, requiring players to use real money to purchase it. This move caused fans to review the bomb the game and dropped its Steam rating, which now stands at “Mixed”. The developer had committed to making significant changes to the game in 2024; however, fans were disappointed.
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How Apex Legends is approaching matchmaking changes
Respawn Entertainment explains the changes that have come and are coming to battle royale title Apex Legends' matchmaking system.
In March 2024, EA's CEO said at the Morgan Stanley conference that the studio would take Apex Legends to a new level by expanding its battle royale formula. The CEO spoke of a “next phase” for the game, hinting at new gameplay and how the team was actively working to make those changes happen. In the statement, the CEO assured players that some of these changes would begin to appear in 2024. Sadly for Apex Legends players, nothing materialized, and those changes didn't make it into 2024.
Apex Legends did not expand its battle royale formula in 2024 as promised
Twitter user Garret pointed this out, and some members of the Apex Legends society shared its views on the matter. Several players criticized Apex Legendsmonetization, saying the game seemed more focused on making money than improving content. Others expressed disappointment after being hyped by the idea of new game modes and significant updates, only to find out that wasn't true yet. Some players believe that the game has actually changed – but not for the better – by criticizing the game's latest maps and legends. Further criticism was directed at the decision to replace Apex Legends' Arena mode with the Mixtape deathmatch playlist.
The latest development caps off a complicated year for the game. In addition to unfulfilled promises, the game faced significant issues with cheaters ruining the players' experience. To make matters worse, Apex Legends' changes to address cheating were quite controversial. The measures implemented by the developer included dropping Linux OS support for the game, including on the Steam Deck. While players wait to see if EA will finally address these promises in 2025, Apex Legends will have to work hard to regain the players' trust.