Electronic Arts has announced to suspend in-game purchases and micro-transactions entirely from the Star Wars Battlefront II just hours before it was scheduled to be released.
Star Wars Battlefront II is an action shooter video game based on the Star Wars film franchise. It is the fourth major installment of the Star Wars: Battlefront series and seventh overall, and a sequel to the 2015 reboot of the series.
It was developed by EA DICE, in collaboration with Criterion Games and Motive Studios, and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide on November 17 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.
However, prior to release, the game received negative reception regarding the status of loot boxes in video games, which could give players substantial gameplay advantages if purchased with real money.
EA while thanking everyone in the community for being the passionate fans ultimately removed micro-transactions from the game until a later date.
The company said that its goal has always been to create the best possible game for devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike, and have an ongoing commitment to constantly listen, tune and evolve the experience as it grows, which has been seen with both the major adjustments made over the past several weeks.
However, EA said that there are still challenges in the design and have heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. It said that this can overshadow an otherwise great game which was never our intention.
Therefore, it turning off all in-game purchases. This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay.
The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after changes are made to the game.
EA said that they have created a game that is built on user’s input, and will continue to evolve and grow. Star Wars Battlefront II is three times the size of the previous game, bringing to life a brand new Star Wars story, space battles, epic new multiplayer experiences across all three Star Wars eras, with more free content to come.
