The run-up to Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s launch has been filled with more fireworks than Luke’s trench run through the Dark Star in the first film. Many fans were disappointed in the beta, and many reviewers took issue with the game’s progression system, which seemed overly-dependent on purchasing in-game currency with real money.
Rather than ignore the outcry, Electronic Arts and DICE responded to these complaints with a statement about the future of the game from DICE’s General Manager, Oskar Gabrielson. According to Gabrielson, the developer and publisher have decided to turn off the online storefront for Battlefront II’s in-game currency. For now, players will only be able to unlock the game’s more advanced features (including the ability to play as Darth Vader) through gameplay.
However, EA and DICE also announced plans to restore Battlefront II’s microtransactions after they rework the game’s progression system:
[A]s 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.
Star Wars: Battlefront II is now available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Gabrielson’s full statement can be found on Electronic Arts’s official website.
