What happens when a super-hyped game, especially one that’s good at launch, faces immense backlash? What happens when fear of disappointment turns to anger and eventually hate? Let’s take a look at 10 such games here.
Star Wars Battlefront 2
DICE’s first Star Wars Battlefront wasn’t awful but it was a far cry from what made the original games so endearing. Even on its own, the amount of content and features just felt lackluster. So when Star Wars Battlefront 2 was announced, it seemed like Electronic Arts was ticking all of the boxes. More extensive maps and modes. A single-player campaign. Free post-launch updates. It all seemed like a dream come true for Star Wars fans.
Then Star Cards happened.
Star Cards were equipable items that provided significant boosts to one’s combat abilities. And of course, the best way to get them was through RNG loot boxes. It was like the pay-to-win pot had finally boiled over, that too in a franchise that was popular among kids. The fact that it cost so much to unlock Star Wars heroes and villains for use in multiplayer – leading to the infamous “pride and accomplishment” comment from EA on Reddit – didn’t help things either.
To say the backlash was immense would be an understatement. Star Cards were pulled from purchase and moved to Class Level unlocks; microtransactions were now limited to cosmetics; more multiplayer content, both online and offline was introduced; and numerous fixes were deployed. It was quite the turnaround for the maligned title. By the time support began winding down in 2020, fans began a petition for more DLC, even willing to pay for the same. That didn’t happen but at least Battlefront 2’s life cycle ended on a happy note.
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