EA has had quite bit on their plate lately in regards to their upcoming title Star Wars: Battlefront II and the uproar from fans about the microtransaction system that will be implemented within the game. These fans were disgruntled about the amount of time and/or money it would take to unlock special characters or features within the game. They felt like they were either forced to play the game for an obscene amount of time to unlock special content, or pay to get them immediately.
The thread got so much attention that EA came out and gave some of their input on the matter, which turned out not to be the best idea for the company since their comment is currently the most downvoted comment on Reddit of all time. After the negative reaction of the fans, EA CEO Andrew Wilson spoke with Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of interactive media at Disney by phone. After a few hours, EA confirmed that they are removing the ability to make in-game purchases with real money until further notice. “We hear you loud and clear, so we’re turning off all in-game purchases,” said DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson.
“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.”
The company also issued an apology for the all the distress right before the game’s official launch. “Our goal has always been to create the best possible game for all of you – devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike,” said Gabrielson. “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.”