Pros are in open rebellion about balance changes while Respawn pays NICKMERCS to do a sponsored stream

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Documentary footage of Respawn hard at work fixing Apex

Pros in open rebellion against meta changes

The majority of well-known Apex players seem close to their breaking point regarding the recent meta changes. They’re posting cynically on Twitter about not getting gifted subs from Respawn because they complain, screenshots of terrible ending circles that were supposed to be fixed three seasons ago, and generally expressing extreme dissatisfaction with the state of the game.

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CLG’s Madness laid out his issues in a short video, first praising the map and cosmetics of Season 6. “You guys did a phenomenal job,” he said, addressing the devs, before getting into his worries about the new TTK. “EVO armor is the right move…but my main concern is that the TTK is just not right…it makes the new guns that are tyring to be forced into meta way too overpowered, I think the Devo should be care packaged…I also think that the game just doesn’t feel like Apex anymore—it has a Call of Duty feel….it’s not the game that we’ve come to love, that is Apex.”

While pro pain is ignored, Respawn pays a Call of Duty streamer

In the midst of this crissis, Respawn and EA made the baffling decision to pay NICKMERCS for a sponsored stream of Apex. NICKMERCS, with over 4.1 million followers, is the seventh most-popular streamer on Twitch. He mainly streams Call of Duty these days. He does not play Apex unless he is paid to. He is not a part of the community. So why hand him a large sum of cash?

SonicTheLedgePog rightly points out that this is an alarming move. It’s easy to see why this kind of sponsored stream might seem like a desperate bid for publicity if we look at Apex viewership on Twitch during the release of new seasons.

Season 4 was released February 4th. That month, average Apex viewership on Twitch was up by 119.9%, and hours watched rose by 105.3%. Season 5 dropped on May 12th. That month, average viewership was up by 75.9% and hours watched rose 82.2%. It was significantly less of a boost than Season 4, but still respectable. Season 6 released August 18th. So far, average viewership is up by only 7%, and hours watched is down by 13.7%. While Respawn and EA are probably still making a fortune from cosmetics, these numbers look scary for the publicity deparement. Apex should be doing its best to gather momentum as it moves toward crossplay in the fall, but interest, at least for now, looks like it’s waning as we move deeper into this meta.

Top EU player considers quitting

Meanwhile, the gifted Danish player Gnaske, the winner of ALGS Online Tournament #6 and the EMEA Super Regional #2, is wondering whether to quit altogether. “I’m not even close to being able to financially support myself,” he tweeted. Despite consistent success, his team hasn’t received an offer from an org.

Hal was being his helpful self:

Nicewigg offered more sincere advice, and I think, as we wade through this shitty time in the game, that we could all benefit from listening to it: “Don’t quit on all that because the last 4 days of this season has sucked. Wait longer to make such a big decision, trust me on this.”

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