During the Reddit AMA, the team from Respawn Entertainment answered a number of questions about Battle Royale Apex Legends. Of particular interest is the developers’ elaboration on the price of cosmetics in the game:
“Pricing is tricky and something we think about constantly. A couple of things I want to talk about here for more context:
- Respawn is gameplay first – Because of that, the first goal we tried to adhere to is that gameplay isn’t locked in anyway around monetization and that it doesn’t feel pay-to-win. That’s why Legends are grindable and Legend Tokens are generally easier to get to unlock Legends (yes, we know that has led to other challenges we have to fix…math is harder than people think and when your assumptions are wrong, it’s hard to adjust). With that goal accomplished and the game not feeling pay-to-win, the other half of the equation we have to think about is how to keep the business healthy so we can keep making more Apex!
- Content creation costs – As much as people think we can turn cosmetics out easily because our competition outputs content at a high rate, our team is much smaller and spends more time on our skins. The part of the equation people miss is the expense side of the people we have working on these things and the fact that we can’t work 24/7. It’s more expensive than people think in terms of number of people and hours because people don’t factor in tons of back and forth on concept, QA, ideation, creation, etc.
- Pricing – As mentioned, we think about this constantly and it’s tough because we want Apex to be around for a loooooong time. Us being able to continue to make the game depends on operating a healthy business. We’re hoping players understand this is something we’re working hard to balance, but when you consider the full picture, it’s a tough challenge. There’s a lot players want from the Apex Universe, there’s a lot we want to give, but we can’t do that unless we’re a healthy business at the end of the day. New Game Modes, Maps, Features all come at a cost we’re trying to support.
- Rewards – Knowing not everyone can pay these prices, that’s why the Prize track system was created so that we can give away pretty high value rewards for just playing and that’s why we have a free track in the Battle Pass as well.”
ABOUT APEX LEGENDS
Conquer with character in Apex Legends, a free-to-play Battle Royale shooter where legendary characters with powerful abilities team up to battle for fame & fortune on the fringes of the Frontier. Master an ever-growing roster of diverse Legends, deep tactical squad play and bold new innovations that level up the Battle Royale experience—all within a rugged world where anything goes. Welcome to the next evolution of Battle Royale.
Check out the official site to find out more or to start playing.
