Apex Legends
Released 4 February 2019 Developer Respawn Entertainment Publisher Electronic Arts
Apex Legends is a free team shooter in which squads of three, each player picking a 'Legend' with their own special abilities, fight on a large map until one squad is left. It is fast and movement-heavy, with a ping system that lets players coordinate without talking, and it is aimed at teenagers and adults.
Money health
HarmfulChance, compulsion or exploitation
Addictive design
High4 of 5 — counts the hooks designed in
Average price
Freefree to download
Spending ceiling
No ceilingRepeat purchases, no limit
Australian rating
Strong violence
How it makes money
Harmful: chance, compulsion or exploitation
Apex Legends is free to play and sells Apex Coins, from 500 coins (A$6.45) up to 10,000 coins plus a 1,500 bonus (A$125.95). Coins buy the seasonal Battle Pass, cosmetics in a rotating store, new Legends and Apex Packs, which are random bundles of three cosmetic items or crafting currency. Each season (about three months) has two Battle Passes of 60 levels; the Ultimate version is A$12.95 and Ultimate+ is A$25.45 per half-season on the Xbox store. A separate currency, Exotic Shards (10 for A$12.95), buys top-tier items. EA's official FAQ says nothing that gives a gameplay advantage is sold.
How you pay
- Loot boxes
Apex Packs, random bundles of three cosmetic items or crafting currency, can be bought with Apex Coins as well as earned free. EA publishes the odds: at least one Epic or better item 24.8% of the time and a Legendary 7.4%. EA says Apex Packs are not available in all territories.
minor part of the game - Battle pass
Each season has two passes of 60 levels. Premium, Ultimate (A$12.95) and Ultimate+ (A$25.45) tiers exist, with Ultimate adding instant rewards and Ultimate+ also skipping 10 levels. Battle Pass Stars come from completing challenges.
- Free-to-play
Free to play on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch 2; income is from Apex Coins, passes and Exotic Shards.
- Cosmetics
The store, passes and packs sell skins, emotes and similar items. EA's FAQ states that Apex Legends sells nothing that offers a gameplay advantage.
Techniques it uses to keep you paying or playing
- FOMO timers
Items in the in-game Store rotate on a schedule, each half-season's Battle Pass ends, and themed events add limited cosmetics, such as the Blood Pact event in October 2026.
- Never-ending
A live game with no end: new seasons of about three months, with new Legends, maps and events; the current season is Season 30, Marked.
- Game currency
Apex Coins come in packs from 500 (A$6.45) to 10,000 plus 1,500 bonus (A$125.95); there are also Exotic Shards (premium), Crafting Metals and Legend Tokens (earned in play).
- Always online
An EA account and a constant internet connection are required. Apex Legends Mobile was shut down on 1 May 2023, and Respawn announced in January 2026 that the Switch version would end after Season 29.
minor part of the game
Fairer alternatives
Similar games with a healthier money model
What it costs
Free to start, then A$6.45–A$125.95 a purchase
| What | Where | Price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 Apex Coins (smallest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$6.45 | Oct 2026 |
| 1,000 Apex Coins | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$12.95 | Oct 2026 |
| 10,000 (+1,500 bonus) Apex Coins (largest pack) | Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$125.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Marked Ultimate Battle Pass (Split 2) One half of a season; a new pass is sold each half-season. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$12.95 | Oct 2026 |
| Marked Ultimate+ Battle Pass (Split 2) Includes 10 levels unlocked and two extra Legendary skin variants. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$25.45 | Oct 2026 |
| 10 Exotic Shards Premium currency for top-tier items; 80 (+30 bonus) shards is A$99.95. |
Microsoft Store (AU) · Xbox Series | A$12.95 | Oct 2026 |
Store prices change often and sales are common; we record the regular price on the date shown.
Reviews from across the web
What the critics said
-
9/ 10
IGN
Called it a well-made squad battle royale, praising its characters, its pinging communication system and its polished controls.
-
93/ 100
PC Gamer
Thought the ping system changed how teams talk to each other in a game and recommended it as an excellent team battle royale.
-
9.3/ 10
Game Informer
Said it blends battle royale and hero shooter well and sets a high bar for free-to-play first-person shooters.
-
9/ 10
GameSpot
Felt the game smoothed out several rough spots of battle royale by borrowing ideas from other shooters.
Scores belong to the outlets that published them; follow the links to read the full reviews. Summaries are ours.
Age ratings & content
What's in it
Content labels
- Violencestrong
Fighting, weapons, injury and death, from cartoon bonks to realistic killing.
From ACB, ESRB and PEGI descriptors - Blood & goremoderate
Blood, injuries and body damage on screen.
From ESRB descriptors
Classification
Age ratings judge content (violence, language, gambling themes), summed up in the content labels above. They say little about how hard a game pushes spending — that's what the money badges are for. About rating boards
Safety & parental controls
Who can talk to your child, and what can they buy?
- Text and voice chat
- Players can interact with strangers
- No user-made content
- Needs an online account
- Terms of service minimum age: 13
Players are matched into squads with strangers, with voice and text chat available, though the ping system lets players cooperate without talking. EA's terms require EA account holders to be at least 13 (or the minimum age where they live), with a parent reviewing the terms if they are under 18. EA child accounts cannot make purchases, and in some countries EA asks for an age check before premium currency can be bought in games with random-content mechanics. Platform parental controls (console and Steam) are the main way to limit chat and spending, and per EA a communication block set in Xbox parental controls also applies inside EA games.
Who makes it
The companies behind it, and their track record
No track-record badges yet.
Latest on the record
- Loot-box action
Loot-box enforcement
Belgium's Gaming Commission found paid FIFA packs were gambling in 2018 and EA stopped selling FIFA Points there in 2019; a 2019 Dutch regulator order was revoked on appeal in 2022. - Crunch
Crunch reports
2005-2006: EA settled overtime class actions by artists ($15.6 million) and engineers ($14.9 million) amid reporting on long unpaid hours. - Large layoffs
Large layoffs
October 2026: EA announced the closure of BioWare amid about 400 reported job cuts; it had earlier disclosed cuts of about 6% of staff in March 2023 and about 5% in February 2024. - Shut down paid games
Shut down games people paid for
EA shut down the servers of online-only Anthem on 12 January 2026, after which the game could not be played. - Competition law
Competition-law action
Pecover v. Electronic Arts: EA paid $27 million under an antitrust class-action settlement over exclusive football licences, approved in May 2013.
Latest on the record
- Labour
Announced closure of BioWare amid about 400 job cuts
Shacknews - Court case
Brazilian first-instance court ordered R$20 million in loot-box damages, subject to appeal
Brazil Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Technical Note 55/2026) - Game preservation
Announced shutdown of Anthem's servers, ending play for owners
Electronic Arts
A company's history doesn't change this game's money verdict, which rates only how the game itself makes money. About company track records
Platforms & release
Where you can play it
| Platform | Released | Store |
|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch 2 | 5 August 2025 | — |
| Nintendo Switch Reported as discontinued after Season 29 (announced January 2026); EA's July 2026 season notes list Switch 2 but not Switch |
9 March 2021 | — |
| PlayStation 5 | 29 March 2022 | — |
| PlayStation 4 | 4 February 2019 | — |
| Xbox Series X|S | 29 March 2022 | Store page |
| Xbox One | 4 February 2019 | — |
| Windows PC EA app, Steam and Epic Games Store |
4 February 2019 | Store page |
Further reading
- Official website
- Apex Legends FAQ: Apex Packs, drop rates and the in-game store (EA)
- EA player and parental tools
- EA: how parental controls affect child accounts
- Apex Legends Battle Pass page
- Wikipedia: Apex Legends
- Wikipedia
Facts last checked 22 October 2026. Sources: www.ea.com, www.ea.com, www.ea.com, www.ea.com, www.ea.com, help.ea.com, www.ea.com, www.xbox.com, store.steampowered.com, store.steampowered.com, en.wikipedia.org, opencritic.com, www.metacritic.com. Spotted something wrong? Send a correction.