Star Wars Battlefront 2 Lootbox Controversy Explained

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Star Wars Battlefront 2 Lootbox Controversy Explained

Star Wars Battlefront 2 was released more than seven years ago, and it had quite a rocky start. Once EA took full control of publishing AAA Star Wars titles, one of the first things they did was reboot the iconic Battlefront series with DICE. The first game in the reboot series, Star Wars Battlefront, came out in 2015 and was mostly well-received by fans of the series.

The problems that persisted were fixed in the sequel, Battlefront 2, which was released two years after the first game. But, in classic EA fashion, the game was riddled with microtransactions and lootboxes, which caused major outcry in the community and almost killed the sequel. Let’s take a look at one of the biggest controversies EA ever faced.

Lootboxes and microtransactions hindered progression in Star Wars Battlefront 2

The controversy first took shape in October of 2017 when a beta version of Star Wars Battlefront 2’s multiplayer launched, giving players a taste of what to expect. One of the primary returning elements from the first game was the Star Card system. These Cards were amplifiers and upgrades for specific heroes and classes to increase their stats and harness new abilities to progress in multiplayer.

These Star Cards were of four tiers: common, uncommon, rare, and epic, and you guessed it. The higher the card, the better the effects. Sounds simple enough, but there was a catch. They could be obtained from dedicated crates containing other rewards such as cosmetics, weapons, and other such things.

What made matters worse was that their drops were randomised, so players were forced to grind and try their chances at getting a reward, which was also one of the only ways to progress and obtain Epic-level Star Cards in the beta. Concerns arose within the community as they saw right through EA’s scummy tactics in encouraging players to purchase the crates with real money to reach higher levels quickly.

Their “pay to win” strategy was evident. EA did take the feedback and released a

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later, stating that Epic-level rewards were no longer in the crates as they were being shifted to the in-game crafting system. This, of course, didn’t quite silence the community as it wasn’t good enough a change and the concept of lootboxes still existed in the game.

While Battlefront 2 did feature a story mode, EA’s main focus was on multiplayer and especially on monetisation, which encouraged them to add these horrendous lootboxes. Not long after the beta, other types of microtransactions filled the game as players needed insane amounts of in-game credits to unlock fan-favorite Star Wars characters like Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and more.

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, again, and reduced the price for unlocking characters, but that didn’t make the situation any better than what it was, since microtransactions were still a thing. Crystals were another type of currency that was used to purchase loot crates for more rewards. Even though they could be earned by completing challenges, the community soon realised that the quickest way of earning them was by purchasing them from the game’s store with real money.

This worsened the state of Star Wars Battlefront 2, with the game facing major backlash and receiving accusations of gambling. Before the game’s launch, DICE developers Dennis Brännvall and Paul Keslin expressed their sadness at the player backlash in a

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.

The situation went from bad to catastrophic, and EA removed all types of microtransactions and lootboxes from the game 24 hours before launch without any prior announcement. They realised how the controversy surrounding the game’s lootboxes harmed its overall perception, so EA finally did the right thing.

Ever since then, the game has received a lot of free content updates, and despite all the negative feedback, the developers at DICE have continued to work hard and bring updates and monthly improvements to the game. Even though EA hasn’t supported the game for half a decade, this chapter in their book has a good ending since there has been a sudden surge of players in Battlefront 2 this year.

Against all odds, Star Wars Battlefront 2 has made a comeback

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2 has unexpected legs | Image Credit: Electronic Arts

Nearly eight years after its release, Star Wars Battlefront 2 has seemingly made a comeback, defying all odds. An account on X called StayBombastic posted a screenshot of Steam, which revealed that nearly 8,000 players were playing the game on the platform over the weekend.

Another day, another increase in Battlefront 2 players

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— Bombastic

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Considering the game reached an all-time peak of a little over 10,000 players in 2021, it’s exciting to see that the number of concurrent players nearly reached that level even after four years. While there’s still no crossplay in Star Wars Battlefront 2, this sudden increase in player count has given fans hope for a potential third game in the iconic series.

Seems like the Star Wars fanbase is keeping their money where their mouth is. Maybe this is how we get EA to greenlight a Battlefront 3. Following Andor’s universally acclaimed finale, and Fortnite doing an entire Star Wars season (with an AI Darth Vader), it’s good to see Battlefront 2 getting some love from the fans, which it didn’t receive during its original release.

Players on other platforms may also be playing the game, but this is a win-win situation regardless. Hopefully, this convinces DICE to come back to Star Wars after they’re done making Battlefield 6, and EA also better learn from their mistakes if they don’t want another Battlefront 2.