Battlefront 2: Controversy at its Finest
By: Preston Schaap

Since the release of EA’s sequel to their 2016 recreation of Star wars, Battlefront 2, the company has been under non-stop criticism and hate. At launch the video game was met with moderate reviews because the game did improve on many things the first game did wrong like the amount of playable heroes and more maps to play, and of course, a playable campaign. But once people started to sit with it the more people realized the amount of EA’s money making machines, known as loot boxes.

Loot boxes have been in our multiplayer experiences for many years. With PC games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA, it was a relatively unpracticed method of getting extra money after gamers had already purchased their game. But after several years, major console titles like Call of Duty started to add small packages that would give players different cosmetic items. After the extreme success of these loot boxes, it has quickly turned into a plague in the gaming industry that can even alter the gameplay of some games and has now reached a level that can be considered gambling.

The new Star Wars: Battlefront 2 has become the culmination of gaming industry greed and shows how companies like EA no longer care about the quality of the gaming experience as long as they can stuff their pockets with green. One player did the math of the time it take to gain experience and level in the multiplayer and it was estimated to take about 4,500 hours to unlock everything in the multiplayer without the help of loot boxes. Another friend reached out to EA on Reddit and asked why they had the easily accessed characters in the first game so walled off now. They responded by saying it was to “increase the pride and accomplishment of unlocking the characters.” This quickly became the most disliked post in Reddit history. Now, even governments are getting involved, like Hawaiian representative Chris Lee, who want to outlaw the game for being “A Star Wars themed casino.”

The loot box epidemic has become intolerable and companies like EA are starting to pay the price for their greedy ways. And, as most gamers can agree, it’s about time.