Apex Legends producer says Iron Crown Collection Event 'missed the mark'

The Apex Legends Iron Crown Collection Event, running until August 27, is "bigger, much more expensive, and more complicated" than we expected, and that hasn't gone over particularly well with some parts of the community. The biggest complaint, as articulated in this Reddit thread, seems to be that the event offers some really gorgeous Legendary skins, but they can't be crafted like other Legendaries—they're only available through event-specific crates.

Executive producer Drew McCoy admitted in an update posted today that Respawn "missed the mark when we broke our promise by making Apex Packs the only way to get what many consider to be the coolest skins we’ve released." In the wake of "feedback" from players, Respawn has decided to rotate all 12 event-exclusive Legendary items through the Apex store through the final week of the event, beginning on August 20. They'll be available for 1800 Apex Coins, the same cost as regular Legendary skins, and will also continue to drop from Iron Crown Apex Packs.

McCoy said that the Iron Crown Collection Event has a different structure from the season 1 Legendary Hunt, and that planned future events will also be different. Because of that, "we need to be better at letting our players know what to expect from the various event structures in Apex Legends."

"With Apex Legends it is very important to us that we don’t sell a competitive advantage. Our goal has not been to squeeze every last dime out of our players, and we have structured the game so that all players benefit from those who choose to spend money—events like Legendary Hunt or Iron Crown exist so that we can continue to invest in creating more free content for all players," he said. "This week has been a huge learning experience for us and we’re taking the lessons forward to continue bringing the best possible experience to all of you."

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.