Apex Legends developers call players 'freeloaders' and 'ass-hats'
Respawn faced criticism for its latest update after players called it expensive and complicated
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Your support makes all the difference.The developers of Apex Legends have been criticised after an attempted apology devolved into a series of insults directed at players of the game.
The hugely popular video game had originally faced criticism for its latest update, which brought with it the Iron Crown Collection Event.
Some players complained about the cost of certain items within the event, as well as the complexity involved in obtaining them.
This resulted in an apology from Drew McCoy, an executive producer at Apex Legends developer Respawn Entertainment, who wrote in a blog post that the Iron Crown event had "missed the mark" by trying to monetise the game in an unfair way.
The apology prompted discussions within the Apex Legends Reddit community, with game developers referring to players as "freeloaders", "ass-hats" and even calling one a "dick".
In response to one comment about excessive in-game monetisation within free-to-play games, Mr McCoy claimed that Apex Legends was not trying to squeeze "every last dime" out of its players.
His reply, which received more than 1,000 downvotes on Reddit, stated: "The amount of people who spend is crazy low, most of y'all are freeloaders (and we love that!) and a change in price doesn't move the needle."
In another comment, he lamented the way he perceived game makers were now treated by the gaming community.
"I've been in the industry long enough to remember when players weren't complete ass-hats to developers and it was pretty neat," he wrote.
"I forged a bunch of long lasting relationships from back then. Would be awesome to get back there, and not engaging with toxic people or asking 'how high' when a mob screams 'jump' is hopefully a start."
His comments provoked outrage from the Reddit community, with the most popular post on the sub-Reddit over the weekend claiming the game's developers had "alienated" the playerbase.
"You committed the ultimate cardinal sin, you got personal," the post stated. "You, as a team of professionals trying to make money, got personal.
"We won't forget this. You've set a new tone for this kind of interaction we'll be having with you. It's a cold one. One where there aren't any illusions about the reality of the situation... You have chosen to bring in a new era of hostility and bitterness. Well done. Great PR move."
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