COMMENTARY - Apex’s Update Cadence Strikes A Good Balance
Straight and steady, Mr. Mayweather.
By Jay Tee
18/01/21
It takes mastery of a delicate see-saw to ensure a free to play model is working; rely too heavily on frantic updates and the experience can become diluted, but at the same time slow and steady doesn’t always win the race. Ensuring healthy engagement with fans, and not bombarding them with excessive purchase options or unexpected balance changes, is the key to victory. Thankfully, Apex Legends has settled into a familiar rhythm, and as its two year anniversary approaches, has established a reputation for meaningful, but gradual, iteration.
With the issue of crunch culture being more prevalent in wider discourse than ever before, I'm glad that Respawn haven’t bowed to the status quo of other live service titles and switched to a faster pattern for updates. It also has the added benefit of allowing the playerbase to get their head around how new and existing weapons feel, which I believe is a vitally important trait for any ongoing title.
That’s not to say it has been all sunshine and roses. That first season was massively underwhelming, with a grinding, dull battle pass and lack of tangible changes to the original map (Kings Canyon) to justify the pomp and circumstance. Although efforts to course correct have been largely successful, even the recent Season 7 battle pass was [rightfully] accused of being too difficult to complete. Again, Respawn reacted quickly, but it’s clear that a game pitched as an evolving beast is no small creative feat, so there were inevitably bumps along the way.
But creativity has never been in short supply with Respawn, and that is evidenced by their fantastic storytelling; the collection of trailers that typically bookend each season are indicative of their belief in the importance of narrative context. When you combine the seasonal drops, town takeovers, stories from the outlands, and everything in between, the benefits of now having a dedicated Apex team based at EA Vancouver (separate from Respawn’s primary HQ) can be keenly felt.
Moving forward, it’s important for Respawn to double down on this approach; players are already invested in the lore, new characters, and the timing of updates. However, the reliability of their output means that expectations will continue to rise, and in order for them to be met or exceeded, there’s certainly a few bits and pieces that could do with some tightening.
Official PS5 / Series X patches, more consistent server performance, the long overdue Switch port, and cross progression are among some of the more pressing omissions, and with any luck, the imminent arrival of Season 8 will see at least a couple of these boxes get ticked. Beyond that, the foundations are well and truly in place for some more fanciful concepts, including the theoretical addition of a co-operative campaign, or even an arena style deathmatch. Both could draw on the excellent (and criminally underappreciated) Titanfall 2, which remains one of the finest shooters ever produced.
In any case, the future for Apex Legends is brimming with possibility. After almost two years with this shadow dropped underdog, it seems like they’re just getting started.
Just for a moment… please imagine Titanfall 3 as a full blown Apex crossover, with the full cast of characters. BOOM.