EA vows to rectify and learn from Star Wars Battlefront II’s mistakes
EA vows to rectify and learn from Star Wars Battlefront II’s mistakes
Star Wars: Battlefront II was a disaster for EA, with the game’s use of a loot-box-based progression system angering the gaming community at large, primarily due to the system’s potential pay-to-win nature. The backlash forced EA to remove the title’s premium currency before release and reduce the in-game cost of heroes, though it was clear that the game’s progression system would need to be redesigned to appease the game’s playerbase.Â
On March 21st, the progression system in Star Wars Battlefront II was separated from the games loot system, with a recent update turning the game’s loot system into a cosmetics only affair, arguably turning the game into what it should have been initially. Battlefront II’s premium currency is set to return next week, though thankfully this system only allows players to access cosmetic items, rather than in-game items or buffs.Â
Söderlund has stated that EA has taken steps as a company to “be better” when it comes to reviewing their monetisation mechanics and loot boxes, understanding that they cannot afford to make the same mistakes again with their next Battlefield release and their new IP Anthem.Â
    We have taken significant steps as a company to review and understand the mechanics around monetization, loot boxes, and other things in our games before they go to market,
For games that come next, for Battlefield or for Anthem, [players have] made it very clear that we can’t afford to make similar mistakes. And we won’t.
I’d be lying to you if I said that what’s happened with Battlefront and what’s happened with everything surrounding loot boxes and these things haven’t had an effect on EA as a company and an effect on us as management,We can shy away from it and pretend like it didn’t happen, or we can act responsibly and realize that we made some mistakes, and try to rectify those mistakes and learn from them.
Â
Â
Since the release of the game’s “progression update”, Star Wars: Battlefront II has seen improved player engagement numbers, which means that the update has had the desired effect on Battlefront II’s community. With this in mind, it seems likely that the next Battlefield game and Anthem will have a microtransactions system that is similar to EA’s current Battlefront II system, where microtransactions are not tied directly to the game’s progression system.Â
   But at the same time, we got it wrong. And as a result, we had to take very quick and drastic actions to turn everything off, and we’ve since worked and redesigned the progression system. People seem to appreciate what we’ve done, players are coming back, and we’re seeing stronger engagement numbers. People seem to think that for the most part, we got it right…we’ll have to be very cautious with what this means for future products.
You can join the discussion on EA’s pledge to learn from Battlefront II’s mistakes on the OC3D Forums. Â