Apex Legends suffers close to 30,000 negative Steam reviews in one week as the battle pass bombing campaign continues

GamesBattle RoyaleApex LegendsApex Legends suffers close to 30,000 negative Steam reviews in one week as the battle pass bombing campaign continuesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Respawn Entertainment)

Apex Legends Valkyrie abilities

It’s been a hard July for Apex Legends.

We reported last week how players wereresorting to review bombingto vent their frustrations with the Apex Legends' new monetization scheme, which boils down to “Now there are two battle passes and you can’t pay for either of them with in-game currency.” Today, that bombing campaign continues unabated, with the free-to-play shooter racking up almost 30,000negative Steam reviewsin the last week alone.

The recent Steam review rating for Apex Legends currently sits at an uncomfortable “Overwhelmingly Negative.” While the overall rating remains a respectable “Mostly Positive,” only 15% of the reviews from the last 30 days have been favorable. And the rate of review bombing hasn’t slowed much either: At time of writing, players have left over 4,400 negative reviews in the last 24 hours.

Unsurprisingly, the most common complaints echoed throughout the wave of negative reviews are related to the battle pass changes. One reviewer asks, “Titanfall 2 had to die for this battlepass money grab bs?” Another says that they’ve “played from the first season and never had a break,” but after 2,650 hours of play time “this might be the end of this journey.”

Recent successes from similar review bombing efforts have demonstrated how nuking a game’s Steam rating can be a surprisingly powerful lever for players to pull. The Helldivers PC community managed to review its way out of having to sign up forSony’s planned mandatory PSN accounts, while TF2 fans successfullypressured Valve into anti-bot banswith the power of public sentiment. Of course, others—like theShadow of the Erdtree difficulty complaints—didn’t seem to achieve much more than a public admission that a lot of people weren’t collecting their scadutree fragments.

And yet, while reading my way through the backlash, I can’t help but wonder how many times EA is going to shoot itself directly in the foot with this particular gun. Maybe someone in the boardroom was nostalgic for the public shaming earned withBattlefront 2’s microtransactions.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

More about battle royaleDon’t stress, Epic Games says you can still unlock Fortnite’s Xbox-exclusive Master Chief skinJohnny Silverhand is coming to Fortnite and yup, he’s got a suitcase nukeLatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

More about battle royaleDon’t stress, Epic Games says you can still unlock Fortnite’s Xbox-exclusive Master Chief skinJohnny Silverhand is coming to Fortnite and yup, he’s got a suitcase nuke

More about battle royale

Don’t stress, Epic Games says you can still unlock Fortnite’s Xbox-exclusive Master Chief skinJohnny Silverhand is coming to Fortnite and yup, he’s got a suitcase nuke

Fortnite skin for Master Chief from Halo

Don’t stress, Epic Games says you can still unlock Fortnite’s Xbox-exclusive Master Chief skin

Johnny Silverhand in Fortnite

Johnny Silverhand is coming to Fortnite and yup, he’s got a suitcase nuke

LatestCruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you deadSee more latest►

Latest

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

Cruel

Cruel is a frantic run-and-gun shooter where you boot cultists out of windows in a cursed apartment block that wants you dead

See more latest►

Most Popular

My Summer Car, the absurdly detailed Finnish life sim about vehicle maintenance and drinking in your underpants, smashes into 1.0 after nearly a decade in Steam early access

Assassin’s Creed Shadows takes a run at improving parkour, as Ubisoft strives to make the system less ‘like a gas pedal’

Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, January 11

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’

If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video

Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals