Pay to play game economics is the root of the player revolt in Star Wars Battlefront 2. The initial outcry was so bad that the developer agreed to drop the costs of unlocking top heroes by 75%. That probably helped, but the outcry against the cash-grabbing game dynamics has continued to build online.
How Much Does Playing This Game Really Cost?
Criticism was quick and harsh on Reddit. One player with an early access copy of the game worked out that it took 40 hours of gameplay to unlock the ability to play the game’s main heroes, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. Loot crates in the game spit out bonuses at random, and players relying on the pure grind will have long hours of gameplay ahead.
Other players complain about the large additional costs incurred during gameplay. Game currency can be purchased with real-world currency, and that can be used to unlock features that would otherwise take hours of gameplay to earn. That arrangement has resulted in a whole lot of pay-to-play accusations.
International Uproar Over SW:BF2 Game Economics
Players view the long hours of gameplay and the ability to pay to bypass achievements as a cash grab by the developers. Criticism has been hot and heavy online. Players are livid about the added costs to play a premium game.
- I paid $80 to have Vader locked?
- I spent $90 and still have no control over my characters
- 4,528 hours of gameplay (or $2100) to unlock all base-game content in SW:BF2
- SW:BF2 loot crates spark unlicensed gambling investigation in UK, Belgium, Netherlands
- Wall Street not happy with EA earnings outlook after online uproar
The top 2 items on that list are the most pertinent:
- EA responded to a Reddit comment to explain that the design was chosen because they wanted players to “feel a sense of accomplishment” at achieving different levels. That comment is now the lowest-rated comment in the history of Reddit.
- The pay-to-play accusations are not entirely accurate, because SW:BF2 is expensive no matter which way you play it:
“A big spender is still going to hit a dead end against the multiple gameplay requirements... And a pure grinder is still forced to use the game’s loot crate system.”
In response to this overwhelming criticism from players, EA immediately lowered the cost to achieve the higher-level heroes by 75% in terms of in-game currency. Players still have many serious complaints. Gaming publications are discussing how game economies are exerting influence on game reviews.
Virtual Game Economies Are Moving Into The Spotlight
Incredibly, this huge uproar is over a game that has not even officially released yet.
It’s worth remembering that Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is already a premium game, priced between $60 and $80 retail. Paying for in-game currency to unlock loot crates can apparently cost the average player hundreds of dollars more than that if they want to play the game’s top heroes, the ones any Star wars fan would obviously be most interested in playing.
It will be interesting to see how SW:BF2 sales perform, and how EA emerges from this public relations debacle. It will also be interesting to see how future game development and game economics are affected by the protest from players.
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