Apex Legends – Iron Crown Event “Broke Our Promise” On Loot Boxes, Says Developer

Apex Legends is in the midst of its second season with what seems to be some solid traffic. The season has also delivered a much fan-requested aspect with current ongoing solo mode that is running now as part of the Iron Crown event. Something that fans weren’t too pleased with, however, was the newest forms of monetization the event brought. It suffered quite the backlash from people who were not happy about the loot boxes and how most cosmetics were locked behind them, far more so than the original season. The backlash carried over to developer Respawn Entertainment, who admits that the event has broken the spirit of the original promise of the game.

In a long and frank blog post, Respawn’s Drew McCoy said that the new loot box system did ‘break’ the spirit of the game’s original monetization ideas that was, overall, less aggressive than other free-to-play titles. He says that it comes down to wanting better communication, and that events like Iron Crown are a necessary evil to continue offering the game for free, but did say more options and more transparency will come in the future.

“Our 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. This week has been a huge learning experience for us and we’re taking the lessons forward to continue bringing the best possible experience to all of you.”

Respawn will reportedly tweak the system by August 20th to let more skins be directly purchasable on a rotating basis. Apex Legends is available now with the current Iron Crown event running until August 27th.