Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson said that during the recent earnings call.
Respawn
During the recent Electronic Arts earnings call, the company's CEO Andrew Wilson talked about Apex Legends, discussing the results of the recent battle pass changes and the possibility of the game's sequel.
Andrew Wilson said (via Variety): "Season 22 of 'Apex Legends' launched with significantly more new features for casual and seasoned players alike, including more modes, a new map, and new anti-cheat software." However, the CEO said that the changes didn't bring the expected results: "Following changes to the battle pass construct, we did not see the lift in monetization we had expected." He points out that "two things had become clear in the free-to-play FPS category." The first is that Apex proved to be a "compelling franchise" and an "industry stalwart." However, the second is that a "large systematic change" is needed to "drive significant growth and engagement."
Wilson announced that there would be no sequel to Apex Legends. One of the attendees asked him whether the company worked on a "systematic rethink of Apex" or Apex 2.0, and the executive answered negatively. He said (via IGN): "Typically, what we have seen in the context of live service-driven games at scale is the 'version two' thing has almost never been as successful as the 'version one' thing." Wilson said the company aims to support its global player base and provide them with "new, innovative, creative content on a season-by-season basis."
Respawn
He continued that another focus is to "build these other things, but build them in a way that players do not have to give up the progress that they've made or the investment that they've put into the existing ecosystem. Anytime we cause a global player community to have to choose between the investments they've made to date and future innovation and creativity, that's never a good place to put our community in."
Wilson also said that the objective would be "to innovate in the core experience." and then build additional opportunities for engagement in different modalities of play beyond what the current core mechanic delivers." He underscores that there's no intention to separate these goals. Thus, the executive confirmed that there would no be Apex 2.0, but the game's fans might expect some "systemic innovation."
Apex Legends' season 22, launched in July, revamped its Battle Pass to improve player experience and progression goals. However, the changes were not well-received by the players, and there were numerous negative reviews. As a result, Respawn acknowledged in the statement that they "could have handled the battle pass changes better" and rolled back their decisions.
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