Apex Legends Publishers Shut Down Revenue-Sharing Talks with Esports Teams

Electronic Arts (EA), the publisher of Apex Legends, recently ended revenue-sharing discussions with esports teams regarding in-game skins. The talks were halted after top-tier organizations banded together to propose a 50/50 revenue split from the items. Several high-profile esports teams have left the game in the last year, citing monetization issues as a factor. According to reports, EA initially offered a flat $60,000 fee for each team, but the majority of the 20 teams requested an uncapped 50/50 revenue share instead. Though EA initially agreed, they ultimately ended discussions on the matter, leading to the departure of several teams from Apex esports. Unlike other publishers and developers, EA and Respawn did not consider the contribution of esports to the overall ecosystem when calculating skin sales, a decision that potentially contributed to lost revenue and the departure of teams.