Just hours before the global launch of Star Wars Battlefront 2, Electronic Arts has suspended all in-game purchases.
In an update posted to EA’s website, the game publisher apologized to fans who were anticipating the game, saying that some issues had come up shortly before the game was set to be released. EA had been working with fans prior to the launch, and decided that, based on their feedback, in-game purchases would end up giving some players “unfair advantages.”
“We hear you loud and clear, so we’re turning off all in-game purchases,” EA wrote. “We will now spend more time listening, adjusting, balancing and tuning. This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay.”
EA plans to eventually turn the ability to make in-game purchases on at an unknown date.
It’s not the only controversy EA has faced this week. It initially defended the decision to unlock popular Star Wars characters after gamers reached 60,000 credits (around 40 hours of multiplayer gameplay), leading to instantaneous backlash from Battlefront 2 fans. EA eventually backtracked and reduced the amount of time one would need to play to unlock Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and other characters to 15,000 credits, or 10 hours.
EA’s letter to fans is included in its entirety below.
Thank you to everyone in our community for being the passionate fans that you are.
Our goal has always been to create the best possible game for all of you – devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike. We’ve also had an ongoing commitment to constantly listen, tune and evolve the experience as it grows. You’ve seen this with both the major adjustments, and polish, we have made over the past several weeks.
But as we approach the worldwide launch, it’s clear that many of you feel there are still challenges in the design. We’ve heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. And we’ve heard that this is overshadowing an otherwise great game. This was never our intention. Sorry we didn’t get this right.
We hear you loud and clear, so we’re turning off all in-game purchases. We will now spend more time listening, adjusting, balancing and tuning. This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay. The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after we’ve made changes to the game. We’ll share more details as we work through this.
We have created a game that is built on your input, and it will continue to evolve and grow. Star Wars Battlefront II is three times the size of the previous game, bringing to life a brand new Star Wars story, space battles, epic new multiplayer experiences across all three Star Wars eras, with more free content to come. We want you to enjoy it, so please keep your thoughts coming. And we will keep you updated on our progress.