This year’s Twitch.
Respawn Entertainment's free-to-play battle royale Apex Legends recently entered its 9th season, titled Legacy, bringing with it Titanfall 2.
In a recent post on its website, EA has announced that the ALGS Championship prize pool will now be partially funded by cosmetic bundles purchased by players, raising the initial prize of $1 million to a potential maximum of $3 million USD. Priced at 2500 Apex Coins ($25) per bundle, there are four to choose from, each containing a legendary character skin, an epic banner frame, and an epic gun charm. A fifth option, titled the Animal Kingdom bundle, includes all four bundles for 9000 coins ($90,) which is 10% cheaper than purchasing the four bundles individually.
It should be noted that the Apex store does not offer the purchase of exactly 2500 coins; thus, players looking to purchase the bundle must get a pack of 4000 coins or more if they wish to purchase the ALGS packs. The bundles are now available for purchase in-game until June 1, and the ALGS Championship is set to begin on May 22 and run until June 13. For every bundle purchased, $5 will go towards the ALGS tournament fund, and $20 from every Animal Kingdom bundle sold. The cosmetic pack's contributions will max out at $2 million, and combined with the initial $1 million provided by EA, the tournament will have a potential prize pool of $3 million.
The company is no doubt taking a leaf out of nowhere close to what The International generates these days, the move to partially crowdfund the championship suggests that EA is getting serious about carving out Apex Legend’s place in the esports scene.
Apex Legends is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Origin and Steam.
Source: EA, Apex Legends/Twitter
