Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends is nominated for the Still Playing Award at the 43rd Golden Joystick Awards, and the community reaction has been, let’s say, a bit complicated. The official Apex Legends Twitter handle repeated its trademark tagline, “Still dropping. Still fighting,” to announce the nomination with neither players nor fans flocking to celebrate.
The Golden Joystick Awards, one of the longest-running awards ceremonies in the gaming circle, includes the Still Playing Award that goes to those games that still maintain an active player base some years after their release. Apex Legends, in every aspect, qualifies for this – the game was born in 2019 and since then has seen content update rotations, and season rotations going on without cessation. Voting shall be open till October 31st, 5PM PT, so plenty of time remains for the players to show up for their favorite battle royale or, as many comments reflect, just bypass the voting link altogether.
The comments section offers a veritably more entertaining narrative than the nomination can. It is as if Respawn opened Pandora’s Box creating a very pinpointed list of complaints about their own game instead of utter chaos. The players are pouring out a blend of irritation with sheer fury.
One user, @Brrrrrrrjhffjj, gave an impromptu endorsement for the game by saying, “I just signed off to straighten up around the house instead of playing. This season is actually making me more responsible, thanks @PlayApex.” Well and good, but that kind of testimony isn’t something they would want for an award that is supposed to be celebrating people still playing their game.
Then again, criticisms are quite specific. Several players seek weapon nerfs, mainly to marksman rifles and the Spitfire. @wizard_bz bluntly states, “Drop that 3030 nerf next,” while @OCalliSZN simply said, “Marksman nerf?????” The numerous question marks clearly express the player’s frustration. It’s almost as if the current meta is causing players to prepare for a revolt.
Not to mention the complaints about character balance. @jolly_smoke went on a short rant about Caustic: “Give Caustic his passive back. It literally is the character. He should never take damage in gas.” Meanwhile, @Brrrrrrrjhffjj (again!) demanded that “fire whoever created alter” – that’s a pretty specific grudge against one particular legend.
Server issues and matchmaking problems are another hot topic. @Strodale pleaded, “I have an Ethernet in can anyone PLEASE tell me what else I could possibly need to do to stop getting shot through walls??” insinuating some netcode bugs. Meanwhile, @nice_fuse complains about skill-based matchmaking, “If they separated the advanced and intermediate players, I could go back to APEX. There are too many opponents I can’t beat no matter what I do.”
More were outright hostile. @tripzambiquez shouted, “Fix your game nobody voting shittt ” while @HamzaAce3 confidently asserted, “No one will vote for you 😂.” Well, maybe those assertions have already been challenged by intermittent supportive comments scattered amongst the criticism.
Wait, what was I saying? Oh yeah, there were actually some nice draws concealed under the torrent of complaints. @FoxJupi wrote, “Ofcourse I voted for Apex! Nothing is better, though Helldivers 2 is second in my book,” which is lovely to see. @Robbie_madness hopes “Hopefully if you win we can get some more lore 😁,” indicating some investment from players in the game’s story framework. Meanwhile, @ittzjoh4nn4 stated “Already voted, thanks!! 😊” – A rare wholesome moment in what feels like an intervention for a might-be-dying game.
The most worrying was a comment from @TheCrow_FPS, “You will find this game as dead game. No voting. It was once a favourite game. Nw because of some shitty contents and then more shitty contents, I m loosing my respect for it. Only if dev team listen and fix. 80,000 players only in last 30 days. If they dont listen. It will 60k” – although the player numbers are likely much higher.
Map complaints showed up as well; @WindyyCityy7 demanded, “Get that dogshit map Olympus tf out of here,” and @only_briii begged, “Add quads permanently!” showing that even years later, players still have strong opinions about game modes and environments.
What is truly interesting is how many comments treat the award nomination as leverage for their respective demands. @luvkasra stated, “Tbh I would vote if you reverse the changes on sparrow☺️,” while @urwaifuischetxx bargained, “give me the sentinel back n i’ll think abt it 😋” – As if they’re keeping their votes hostage until Respawn crosses off items on their personal wishlist.
The whole thing makes for an almost awkward dynamic where Apex Legends stands to be awarded for keeping its community engaged while a sizable chunk of their community seems downright unhappy with Apex’s current state. It’s like nomination for Employee of the Month Party; yet on the breakroom half your coworkers are whining about you.
Despite all the bad press, Apex is one of the most famous battle royale games in the market, which also speaks for its nomination itself. Survive through multiple seasons, meta shifts, and competitor releases – that is too much to speak of for any game, no matter what Twitter comments would have to say on the matter. Whether this actually leads to a few votes for the Golden Joystick Award is still unknown, but undoubtably, the Apex Legends community remains very passionate; even if the passion is expressed through criticism rather than praise. It may be “still dropping, still fighting,” but judging by the response, it’s still the players that are fighting, only now they fight with the developers instead.
Respawn Entertainment continues to support the game through various initiatives, including creator tournaments. The game is available on multiple platforms including PlayStation and Xbox.
