Star Wars Battlefront II Missed Sales Targets

If things would've been different, Star Wars Battlefront II could have been the successful action shooter video game everyone hoped for it to be. Instead, it becomes such an abomination of the series that the fans held in such high standards previously. All because of Electronic Arts’ (not-so) bright idea of introducing the concept of micro-transactions through in-game loot boxes and thus, causing massive fan outrage.

star wars battlefront 2 underperformed 2017
Star Wars Battlefront II Missed Sales Targets

Recently, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson of Electronic Arts have revealed their most anticipated release of last year, Battlefront II have failed to meet their expected sales target in their quarterly earnings conference call. EA expected to sell at least 10 million copies within the end of December, which is the third quarter of their 2018 fiscal year but so far, they have shipped only 9 million copies of the game and therefore they are one million copies short to meet the estimated sales target.

RELATED: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Update for Star Wars Battlefront II

According to Wall Street Journal, EA’s chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen states that they require to sell 1 million to 3 million units more within the end of March, the conclusion of the fiscal year. Even if they manage to do that somehow, Battlefront II will still remain behind the previous game of the series, Star Wars Battlefront that shipped over 14 million copies within 2016 fiscal year and was more appreciated by the fans than the current installment.

RELATED: Star Wars Battlefront II Controversy Hurts EA Stock Price

When the much-controversial micro-transaction outrage hit EA in the face before the release of the game, they have removed it almost immediately and as a result, players cannot purchase the in-game currency of "Crystals Pack" or any other loot crates anymore. The company also said that they will eventually bring it back and Jorgensen reminded us that they are bringing the in-game purchase system in a few months when they deem fit.

RELATED: Reddit Bashed EA Over Battlefront II Loot Boxes

Needless to say that, the failing to meet sales target was largely because of the greedy attempts of EA to try and slip through the pay-to-win policy in-game. As for an AAA game developer, this move was pretty careless considering people already spending $60 for a full-priced game. At first, many have appreciated them for not including any overpriced season pass DLC but then players found out that Battlefront II has locked weapons and player upgrades after the Beta went public.

star wars battlefront 2 loot boxes returning
Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker Are Locked

Before the release of Star Wars Battlefront II, EA promised to include many fan-favorite and legendary Star Wars characters from all three trilogies of the series but then EA locked out classic characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker behind shady paywalls, which was a major disappointment for the dedicated fan-base of Star Wars franchise. Contents based on The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi movie could have added more attraction for the consumers if they hadn't done what they did.

RELATED: Star Wars Battlefront II Micro-Transactions Outrage

Although CEO Andrew Wilson denies it completely, rumor in the air is that, this move has also cost their previous tidy relationship with Disney. Back then, things escalated so much so after a post on Reddit caused the loot crate controversy that Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger had to step up right away and make EA back out of their of pay-to-win practices at that instant.

RELATED: Emperor Palpatine Joins Star Wars Battlefront II

Currently, Star Wars Battlefront II is available worldwide to play on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Despite considering all the shady moves Electronic Arts tried to pull for a few extra bucks, Battlefront II is pretty enjoyable and even without access of the legendary hero characters upfront, you can still have a good time playing the game and explore the Star Wars universe in your own way.
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