Lucasfilm weighs in on Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot box ordeal

Over the weekend, we learned that Star Wars Battlefront 2 developer EA told investors that the removal of the game's controversial microtransactions will not have "a material impact" on its projected earnings. On Friday, the Disney-owned Lucasfilm issued a statement in support of the withdrawal. 

In an statement provided to the Washington Post (via Eurogamer), a Lucasfilm spokesperson said: "Star Wars has always been about the fans—and whether it’s Battlefront or any other Star Wars experience, they come first. That’s why we support EA’s decision to temporarily remove in-game payments to address fan concerns."

Despite EA's earlier claims that Battlefront 2's loot crates did not constitute gambling, they were temporarily removed last week off the back of a turbulent Reddit AMA between the publisher and the game's players. 

The Washington Post reports that Jimmy Pitaro, the chairman of Disney's consumer products and interactive media division, voiced concerns to EA about Battlefront's in-game transactions hours prior to EA's decision to pull them. The Post says this call "was to express Disney executives’ unhappiness at how the outrage 'reflected on their marquee property.'" 

Lucasfilm and Disney's stance seems clear, then, despite the fact EA plans to reinstate microtransactions once the game's progression system has been tweaked.

If you're yet to play Star Wars Battlefront 2, head in this direction for Tyler's review.  

Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show
Latest in Action
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
An image of a Helldiver from Helldivers 2 shooting at a red dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
'Ok, so dragon builds are a thing now': galaxy-brained Helldivers 2 player incinerates a bile titan with a hover pack and a flamethrower
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened