Now that EA has temporarily removed all microtransactions from Battlefront II, there’s been some speculation that the parent company Walt Disney Studios has had a major role in the decision and that EA was forced to remove the microtransactions on Disney’s behest.
But it seems that might not be the case since Lucasfilm’s has entered the fray to clear all misunderstandings and to erase any speculations regarding any relation between EA and Walt Disney deteriorating commenting:
“Star Wars has always been about the fans, and whether it’s Battlefront or any other Star Wars experience, they come first,” an official spokesperson told The Washington Post. “That’s why we support EA’s decision to temporarily remove in-game payments to address fan concerns.”
This does clear up any speculation regarding the aforementioned rumors. However this is but a temporary respite. The reason being EA still tends to bring back microtransactions in Battlefield II. What we do not know however is in which form.
Microtransactions are not entirely bad , the issue arose of how EA implemented them in Battlefront II which was borderline exploitation. This left the fans and industry alike fuming and has resulted in a PR nightmare for a game which many were counting on to be a success anyway.
While EA has confirmed to investors that the decision will not affect any earning goal despite the fact that the game has sold 60% less than its predecessor. This speaks volumes about how the boycott has affected the sales of the game
This is still a matter which has far from reached its conclusion and I believe that this was the first stance of a protest from the community which will make devs and publishers vary about implementing exploitative microtransactions in the future.
Star Wars Battlefront II is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
