Good news for the customers, and definitely a win. EA is pulling all In-Game Purchases from Star Wars Battlefront II after all the negative publicity this week. Yesterday news reached the web that the in the EU, Belgium, and Netherlands, EA will be investigated for violating gambling laws, related to the loot boxes.
Technically you do not know whats inside the loot boxes, but you do have to pay for them. The publisher announced this on Friday. Players could also buy ‘crystals’ with real money, allowing them to purchase upgrades in the game. That is gambling and is not allowed in the EU. A has removed all in-game purchases effective immediately (for now):
The presence of these microtransactions led to a stir/uproar and it is the result of a week of absolutely brutal headlines for EA, DICE and Battlefront 2 as early adopters protested a huge number of problems with the game’s progression system including it being:
- Tied to randomized loot boxes
- Full of high-cost, ultra-grind unlocks
- Full of Star Cards that give significant power advantages
- In a game where credit earning is capped in arcade play
- More or less entirely based around getting people to buy loot boxes for clear advantages
With this move, at least one aspect of this has been taken out of the equation. Everything that can be purchased with the crystals in the game can now be earned through in-game activities. According to Gabrielson, it is a temporary measure. Those crystals are coming back, but not until they’ve been fixed, um, somehow.
From Oskar Gabrielson, GM, DICE
Thank you to everyone in our community for being the passionate fans that you are.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. 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.
We have created a game that is built on your input, and it 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. We want you to enjoy it, so please keep your thoughts coming. And we will keep you updated on our progress.
The Dutch Gaming Authority recently started an investigation into games with loot boxes, to determine whether this is indeed a game of chance. If that is the case, then in the worst case this can lead to a ban on the games in question. Online gambling is not allowed here in the Netherlands.
