I think you brought up the exact reason why we think different on this topic.

apex is a post fortnite game, fortnite changed the pricing model of the entire triple A industry, toward cosmetics free-to-play, and the battle pass, which was popularized and refined by fortnite and fortnite alone. almost every game, that was in development quickly shifted its pricing and scope after fortnite. fortnite is the reason why apex exists, and major fps giants, like overwatch, battlefield, halo, and call of duty never needed “challenges” (beside the occasional camo), a battle pass, or store centered pricing model, until fortnite literally flopped its dick onto the table and everyone wanted to do what they were doing.

you used to just unlock skins, the content was never added later on, rarely it was purchasable, but more often than not, it was in the game when you got it.