Electronic Arts plans to continue offering online services and optional microtransactions, according to the company’s chief financial officer, Andrew Wilson, who spoke on the subject of the loot boxes of Star Wars: Battlefront II.
“Going forward, we believe that live services that include optional digital monetization, when done right, provide a very important element of choice that can extend and enhance the experience in our games,” Wilson said during the financial report. “We’re committed to continually working with our players to deliver the right experience in each of our games and live services.”
Wilson commented that the Star Wars scandal was “definitely a learning opportunity.” He went on to say that they temporarily eliminated all microtransactions from the game, in part, by “sentiment and community data coming out of the beta and early trials.” However, and as was clear from the beginning, the micro-transactions of Battlefront II will be back “in the next few months”, although the manager did not point out the difference they will have with the first proposal, where players had the option to buy loot boxes with real money that included elements that affected the balance of the game.
“We never intended to build an experience that could be seen as unfair or lacking clear progression, so we removed the feature that was taking away from what fans were telling us was an otherwise great game. We are fortunate to have such passionate players that will tell us when we get it right, and when we don’t,” Wilson added. “We’re now working hard on more updates that will meet the needs of our players, and we hope to bring these to the Battlefront II community in the months ahead.”
And it is that the company has several reasons to bring back microtransactions in Star Wars: Battlefront II. According to the data, the last quarter EA recorded more than $787 million in online services, with microtransactions or supplements. Although there are many players in disagreement with this practice, we must take into account that revenues saw a growth of 39% over last year.
Also, the director clarified that with the initial distribution of Star Wars: Battlefront II it did not exceed their expectations or match the sales of the first title of 2015, however, the game is successful and the players “spent twice as much time playing Battlefront II over the previous game during the launch quarter.” He added that 70% of users tested the campaign, although he did not say how many completed it.
Finally, he said that the community is strongly committed to the Battlefront II DLC. In the coming months, there will be new content and Wilson hopes that the title continues with the success it has so far, which will extend the life of Star Wars: Battlefront II.
On the same day, EA spoke about the following points in its financial report:
1. EA could integrate the Battle Royale experience in Battlefield.
2. EA reported losses in the third quarter of the fiscal year.
3. Star Wars of Respawn Entertainment could debut in 2020.
4. Sales of Star Wars: Battlefront II were disappointing for EA.
