Update: EA and DICE confirm that microtransactions have been removed from Star Wars Battlefront II while they work on changes.
Original: As Star Wars Battlefront II launches publicly across the globe today–Tuesday’s launch was just for the Elite Trooper Edition of the game–reports are stirring that EA and DICE are about to make a major change to the game’s progression and loot box economy. The progression system has been a point of major controversy leading up to launch as it inherently ties in pay-to-win mechanics with loot boxes that reward gameplay advantages.
Crystals, the paid currency that allows players to buy loot boxes with real-world money, are no longer available for purchase on the PSN or Amazon. While they are still available on Xbox Live at the time of this writing, many are guessing that this might have something to do with a big shift in the economy for Star Wars Battlefront II. Jason Schreier of Kotaku circulated a rumor regarding the shift on Twitter.
Rumors swirling that EA is about to pull an Xbox One…
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 17, 2017
DICE and EA have come under a lot of fire in the past week regarding Star Wars Battlefront II’s microtransactions and loot boxes. Our own review cited the progression system as the only thing holding back one of our favorite games of the year. On a Reddit AMA this week, the developers committed to continuing a dialogue with the players and insisted that a lot of changes were in the works that would change the game “tremendously.”
Not allowing players to buy the loot crate currency would be the first step towards making those promised changes, as the further people get into the current progression system, the harder it would be to rework. If these rumors are true, it could mean that a huge update is coming very soon to Star Wars Battlefront II.
We’ll keep you updated about any official changes that DICE and EA announce. Meanwhile we’ll treat this as a rumor, and hope that it’s not simply an error with the PSN and Amazon marketplaces.
