Star Wars Battlefront 2 Underperformed Due to Loot Box Controversy

Update: Star Wars Battlefront 2 actually sold in 7 million units with EA expecting to sell 8 million units for the third quarter.

Stock reports over the past few months, along with second-hand reports from consumers, painted a picture of Electronic Arts’ Star Wars Battlefront 2 underperforming in sales thanks to the explosive loot box controversy surrounding it. Prior its Q3 2018 financial report, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen confirmed that sales were officially affected.

Jorgensen told The Wall Street Journal (via Sarah E. Needleman on Twitter) that the sequel sold 9 million units instead of the originally estimated 10 million. This is compared to Star Wars Battlefront which managed to sell 14 million units by March 31st 2016. EA is expecting to have 1 million to 3 million additional units shifted before the current fiscal year ends.

Furthermore, the sequel sold 37 percent of its copies digitally compared to 32 percent for the original. EA also confirmed in its financial report that Bioware’s Anthem has been delayed to early 2019 though CFO Blake Jorgensen noted that “It’s not a delay”. Which is a contradiction to the entire process of delaying it but that’s a separate issue.