Pro Apex Legends Player Places Blame For The Shooter's Woes Directly At The Feet Of "Upper Management"

"Upper management is either, negligent, lazy, or has motives that do not align with the players' best interests," says Apex Legends pro player HisWattson. EA and Respawn's shooter has been under fire for quite some time now. With a shift to a new seasonal model that initially required two cash purchases before it was rolled back and a player count that's been declining all year, fans are rightly upset. This is despite EA's CEO claiming the game is in need of a "Large Systemic Change."

So how did we get here? Apex Legends was making some serious cash right out of the gate and seemed nearly unstoppable. Now with players upset, monetization strategies that confuse and annoy, and a lack of a focus on the game's core audience, the wheels seem to be coming off of the gravy train to a certain extent.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Apex is going anywhere any time soon and it's still making a ton of money, but piss off your audience long enough and that's guaranteed to change.

HisWattson thinks the issues stem from three major issues. The first it that Apex can't seem to focus on what audience the game is really after. Should it cater to casuals? Ranked competitive players? Both? Everyone? It just seems to be going back and forth adding and removing modes catering to a particular crowd. One day Apex may be perfect for you and the next it may not even offer the mode you enjoyed playing. Add the EOMM (Engagement Optimized Matchmaking Framework) that's designed to matchmake in ways that keep you playing rather than being based on skill and you have a confusing bag of features for players.

HisWattson continues by laying the blame for the current state of the game right at the feet of upper management, management that didn't really know what to do when Apex Legends became a surprise smash hit. HisWattson feels that EA just opted to rake in cash with as few expenses as possible rather than continue to experiment and develop on the hit they had created almost accidentally. HisWattson's view on this extends to how EA shuns the modding community and their suppression of community-made content at the same time the company creates very little new content itself.

To be clear, HisWattson makes sure to point out that they think the blame is not on the devs. In speaking to team members, he says he's heard the same two phrases from them over and over: “I have heard two gloomy phrases they have all repeated: ‘We want to do (blank), but we’re not allowed,’ or, ‘All our suggestions fall on deaf ears."

It's an interesting watch so check out the video below. Where do you think Apex Legends is headed? Can it recover and start growing again or will EA be content to let it just keep pulling in cash...until it doesn't?