Just hours before the game was to be properly released, EA have altered the deal with Battlefront 2 and its highly controversial microtransactions. Until they can properly tweak them based on player feedback, the option to buy crystals (the game’s virtual currency) has been removed.
This comes off the back of a torrent of negative responses to the systems within the game, which many believe pointed the player towards microtransactions so that they could unlock heroes quicker and also gain an in-game advantage. The fury of fans was keenly felt, with a comment from a member of the EA Community Team going on to become the most downvoted comment in Reddit history.
DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson said in the statement:
“As we approach the worldwide launch, it’s clear that many of you feel there are still challenges in the design. We’ve heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. And we’ve heard that this is overshadowing an otherwise great game. This was never our intention. Sorry we didn’t get this right.”
Today, we turned off in-game purchases for #StarWarsBattlefrontII. The game is built on your input, and it will continue to evolve and grow. Read the full update: https://t.co/asGASaYXVp pic.twitter.com/vQSOmsWRgk
— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) November 17, 2017
While this may be a small victory for concerned fans, it’s worth remembering that microtransactions will be making a return at some point in the future. Their temporary removal hours before the game was due to be released sounds like a clever bit of PR from EA and DICE.
Just in case you aren’t all caught up, I put together a list of all of the controversies surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 since it was announced.
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