Apex Legends Season 25’s new innovations are overshadowed by layoffs

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Last week, I had the opportunity to get an early look at Apex Legends Season 25, featuring a fresh Legend, balance updates, and significant meta overhauls. However, my news feed is currently overflowing with disappointing news: job cuts at Apex Legends studio Respawn Entertainment, and the cancellation of the upcoming Titanfall project.

The arrival of Season 25 won’t halt its progress, as it introduces a fresh character named Sparrow, marking the first playable Legend to join the game in over a year. As a specialized archer, Sparrow brings back the Bocek as floor loot. Accompanying Sparrow is an endearing feline pet named Artemis. This Italian bounty hunter has been enlisted by Blisk for the Apex Games. Despite being relatively young, Sparrow is so skilled that Season 25 is titled “Prodigy.

Sparrow was unveiled, and within a day, narrative designer Heather Woodward, who created Sparrow, was among the 100 employees let go from Respawn. The company only partially acknowledged work on a new Star Wars Jedi game in their announcement, but Stig Asmussen, writer and director of the first two games, departed Respawn in 2023 and established Giant Skull Studio in 2024. This news doesn’t give fans much hope for Respawn’s upcoming Star Wars: Zero Company, which they are developing alongside Bit Reactor.

Considering the latest headlines, it’s hard not to dissect Apex Legends to understand what might have caused its downfall. By May 2022, Apex Legends had amassed earnings of over $2 billion, and it saw a surge in players on Steam as late as February 2023, according to SteamCharts. However, consistent growth isn’t always possible, and news about a “major system overhaul” emerged after the game fell short of its monetization goals.

Admittedly, I’ve taken a break from playing Apex Legends extensively since the year 2021. However, let me clarify that during those initial years, I logged more than 1,000 hours into the game. Reminiscing about those early days is something I often do. Although it hasn’t been too long in terms of time, the nostalgia hits me hard. I might not be fully aware of the current mechanics, lore, and meta changes, but I was once deeply immersed, and a special affinity for Apex Legends remains that I don’t feel for other live service games. I don’t want to see Apex Legends fade into obscurity before it eventually ends, but the recent headlines have made me question its future.

In the past year, Sparrow has become the most recent character added to Apex Legends, with the latest unique map being released in 2022. While Apex Legends doesn’t necessarily require a fresh map or 50 diverse characters every season to be entertaining, these developments might suggest that the game is starting to lose momentum.

Initially, Apex Legends was considered to challenge Fortnite Battle Royale’s reign, but compared to Fortnite, which has experienced impressive events and player growth in the last year due to its association with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, Apex Legends is experiencing a reduction – not only in terms of new content being introduced, but also in the staff count at Respawn Entertainment.

Of course, Apex Legends isn’t solely responsible for the current situation. Respawn Entertainment doesn’t limit their work to a single game, and Electronic Arts (EA) has had to reduce staff members beyond those in Respawn’s teams, indicating that EA’s overall financial predicament is the root cause. However, Season 25 is exciting news as it reintroduces the Arenas mode, enabling players to finally engage in intense 1v1 battles.

In Apex Legends, the gameplay style is moving towards longer distances, hence sniper weapons are receiving damage buffs on limbs once more. Additionally, the Bocek bow can convert frag grenades into a cluster of explosive arrows, enabling you to maintain a safe distance while stirring up mayhem. This setup is particularly beneficial for the latest character, who’s an archer, but also enhances Pathfinder, as he can now double the recharge rate of either his Tactical or Ultimate abilities, making him significantly more powerful in virtually any scenario. On a related note, P2020s have undergone a reduction in power, so don’t expect final circles to be overrun with pistols anymore.

Why does it seem like we can’t fully appreciate the success of Apex Legends, a game that consistently ranks among the top ten most-played on Steam and is widely considered one of the best battle royale games? Even as newer titles like Marvel Rivals are gaining traction, they still can’t match Apex in terms of daily player numbers, yet headlines about Apex often read like obituaries. It’s interesting to note that while both games have similar peak player numbers on Steam, Marvel Rivals sees lower daily lows. Why is this trend continuing, while Apex seems to be slipping from the limelight?

My theory is that the high expectations placed upon Apex Legends and other live service games might be too lofty, given that many smaller live-service titles are doing well. Perhaps we’re so focused on these grand expectations that we fail to acknowledge the successes of games like Apex Legends.

In the past, Apex Legends was my favorite shooter game I’ve ever played, and I yearn for Season 25 to rekindle the excitement I once felt. However, my most recent reference point was a time when the game and its studio were growing rapidly, and comparing that period to the present feels disheartening, especially since developers often don’t stick around long enough to witness their projects being launched.

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2025-05-01 18:16