Friday 17 November 2017

Microtransactions gone from Star Wars Battlefront II



Star Wars Battlefront II launches today and many fans (myself included) aren't picking it up day-one. However, following weeks of heated debate surrounding pay-to-win, publisher EA has dropped microtransactions from the controversial sequel. At least for now.

"Our goal has always been to create the best possible game for all of you – devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike. We’ve also had an ongoing commitment to constantly listen, tune and evolve the experience as it grows," a blogpost from Oskar Gabrielson, general manager at EA game developer DICE, read. "You’ve seen this with both the major adjustments, and polish, we have made over the past several weeks.

"But 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.

"We hear you loud and clear, so we’re turning off all in-game purchases. We will now spend more time listening, adjusting, balancing and tuning. 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 we’ve made changes to the game. We’ll share more details as we work through this."

Publishers are in it for the money and not altruism! The majority of shareholders have zero interest in the fans. However, I suspect Disney was instrumental in EA’s decision to remove microtransactions until after The Last Jedi is in cinemas.

In the wake of this news, will you be buying Star Wars Battlefront II? Let me know in the comments below.

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