As the showing date of Star Wars: The Last Jedi comes closer, one product in the Star Wars franchise has caught the attention of the online communities, but not in a good way. Electronic Arts’ new video game Star Wars Battlefront II has been under fire for its in-game microtransaction features before the game is even released to the public.

Star Wars Battlefront II is the sequel to the action shooter game Star Wars Battlefront, released in 2015. Being part of Disney’s Star Wars’ franchise, players are able to play as many iconic Star Wars characters such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. It is this very feature that has caused the uproar of many players. Before the adjustment made by EA, in response to the communities’ outrage, to unlock those popular characters, literally years of gameplay is needed in order to collect enough in-game currency. Don’t have the time? You can also unlock those characters straight away, at a cost of $2,100

This microtransaction system is the main cause of many’s enragement. As a result, players who pay get better characters quicker than those who don’t. This puts them on extremely uneven playing fields. For a game that already come with a price tag of $60, it’s a really uncommon act for EA to implement mechanisms that punish players who do not pay more money. “They (EA) are just a corrupt company that can’t get enough money”, says senior, Callum Revell, who refused to buy the game.  

Counter arguments can be made by pointing out that many other popular video games also have built in microtransactions so players can by in-game currency and loot crates. However, Star Wars Battlefront II is unlike many other games that only offer unlockable skins, cosmetic add-ons for characters and weapons that do not affect the outcomes of game plays. Better characters in Battlefront II often means a higher chance of winning a match. In addition, it’s almost unrealistic to unlock those characters without paying. By doing so, EA has turned a game of skill to a game of money.

EA has made a statement on Reddit explaining the reason for microtransactions are “to provide a sense of pride and accomplishment to players”. However, the gaming community did not accept that answer. A few days after the release of the statement, EA’s stock has lost $3bn in value. In response, EA has suspended the microtransactions and begun redesigning the in-game currency system.