Following the recent controversy over Star Wars Battlefront 2 being pay-to-win, EA seems to be trying to fix this issue. After the massive outcry that occurred on Reddit following EA’s initial attempts to address the issue, they have now at least made some changes. At the UBS Global Technology Conference this week, Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgenson asked for gamers to “be patient” and that they are definitely hearing and engaging with the community. While the prices of some Heroes have been lowered, the community is still frustrated with the inclusion of loot boxes in the game.
Jorgenson also stated that the company is now mainly focused on engaging players and is starting to look into how live events can engage players for longer. Furthermore, he stated that they are sure that players will find “incredible value” in such live events but it remains to be seen if the community agrees. He also added that if EA had such a live service in their games, “they could keep people engaged, give them even more to play with, and they’d also most likely be able to monetize them over time.”
Of course it makes sense that a behemoth like EA has to consider how to monetize gaming experiences, but so far their current approach has backfired in Star Wars Battlefront II. While many players are calling for a boycott of the game, it is likely that many will still buy the game when it releases on the PS4, Xbox One and PC later this week.