The internet will always be the best place for a particularly vicious brand of comedy.
The Star Wars Battlefront II controversy is likely still on the forefront of many gamers minds as microtransactions and loot boxes remain a topic of discussion amongst other companies. Here’s a refresher for anyone who missed it: EA was accused of pushing loot boxes, randomized item drops that could be purchased within the game, by making the items almost impossible to unlock through other means. Even major characters like Darth Vader needed to be unlocked, but it would take nearly 40 hours of gameplay to do so.
This led to a lot of community backlash and some real consequences for EA. A lot of this was seen on Reddit, where one user posted thread bashing EA for charging so much money for a game that still had so much additional content that had to be paid for.
An unlucky EA employee responded with this:
It quickly became the most downvoted comment in Reddit’s history, receiving -670,000 points to date. Players were not happy with the idea that they were supposed to feel “pride and accomplishment.”
Nexus mods user Dareedevokl just took things to the next level. His mod for Battlefront II, “Pride and Accomplishment” replaces loot box skins with one that bears those words in a Star Wars inspired font. It’s a scathing commentary on the entire loot box system, which many players feel encourages a pay-to-win mentality for online games.
The discussion of microtransactions continues to loom large in the community, and we will no doubt continue hearing stories like this one until developers and gamers can reach a compromise in regards to in-game purchases.