The CEO of Alliance and head of Luminosity have come to the defense of EA, after some organizations that left Apex Legends cited the company’s lack of investment in the competitive scene as a major reason for their exit.
NRG exited Apex Legends esports on September 15 and the organization, along with its former players, mainly pointed toward EA and Respawn and their lack of investment into their esports scene as a major reason for leaving.
“We feel EA/Respawn have not done enough to support orgs and made the tough call to take a step back,” Jaime Cohenca, the Chief Gaming Officer at NRG Esports, said on social media.
With the release of our team I can also confirm that NRG will not be fielding a roster for ALGS going forward. We feel EA/Respawn have not done enough to support orgs and made the tough call to take a step back. I did want to take some time to thank the following people for… https://t.co/ban8iveVIY
— NRG jaime (@bikeage) September 15, 2023
NRG are among the many established esports organizations that have left Apex Legends esports recently. Team Liquid, Cloud9 and G2 Esports have all left the esport within the past year, albeit without taking shots directly at EA on their way out.
Alliance CEO defends EA over handling of Apex Legends esports
Orgs that are still in the ALGS have come to defend EA and its handling of Apex Legends on social media after NRG’s comments caused a backlash from fans toward the company.
The CEO of Alliance, Jonathan Berg, said he understands that running an org is hard, but that it isn’t just because of EA that these teams had to leave Apex.
“EA is far from the worst game dev out there and they don’t deserve all the heat they are receiving in Apex atm. I would love for them to do more for orgs overall but they are honestly investing more into its esport every year,” Berg said.
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EA is far from the worst game dev out there and they don’t deserve all the heat they are receiving in Apex atm.I would love for them to do more for orgs overall but they are honestly investing more into its esport every year. Running an org is very hard, and I understand…
— Jonathan “Loda” Berg (@LodaBerg) September 19, 2023
The head of Luminsoty also said he was happy with how EA and Respawn have handled their esports thus far.
I guess I'll give the opposite take that is on my timeline right now, we're extremely happy with EA and Respawn's communication and offerings thus far, @Luminosity is 100% committed to remaining in ALGS for Year 4 (and hopefully more).
— Alex Gonzalez (@AlexGLogics) September 15, 2023
“I guess I’ll give the opposite take that is on my timeline right now, we’re extremely happy with EA and Respawn’s communication and offerings thus far, Luminosity is 100% committed to remaining in ALGS for Year 4 (and hopefully more),” Alex Gonzalez, the head of Luminosity said on social media.
.@PlayApexEsports pic.twitter.com/XEZEKEs97T
— FURIA Henry (@FURIAHenry) September 17, 2023
FURIA Esports also issued an update on their future in Apex Legends, implying that they will continue to compete in the esport.
The exit of NRG and many other esports organizations comes on the heels of a report about EA and Respawn’s refusal to allow ALGS teams to earn in-game revenue from cosmetics items. Multiple orgs reportedly came together and sent a letter to EA with a proposal around in-game cosmetic money after some previous talks and proposals from the developer’s end. EA soon shut down all negotiations around the matter after the letter was sent.
Of the 14 organizations involved in the letter, only five have left the esport so far.
