In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, DICE’s very own Dennis Brännvall, Design Director on Star Wars Battlefront II, opened up about the game’s long journey in gaining back fans’ trust. “Not a week goes by without us thinking, ‘Imagine if we hadn’t launched with loot boxes the way we did,'” Brännvall said. Star Wars Battlefront II came under fire due to loot boxes paired with the in-game cards that granted various buffs to each class when equipped.
Just 24 hours before the game launched, EA removed the controversial loot boxes from Star Wars Battlefront II. Looking at the game today, there is a premium currency, however, it only allows for the purchase of in-game cosmetic skins for various heroes and soldier classes. DICE made the promise early on that all of Star Wars Battlefront II’s future DLC would be free for all players, as they didn’t want to fragment the community like the first game. They’ve delivered on this promise as Star Wars Battlefront II is in a healthier place than ever with tons of new content and even more coming down the pipeline for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
The team enjoys working on it (Star Wars Battlefront II) a lot more because you feel like you’re building up a community. It feels a lot more personal, and it’s just a better game. It’s more about improving the game rather than always providing value to the customer, which I think is the approach with a season pass.
Brännvall seems incredibly optimistic about the game’s future, even being happy that they won’t be the only Star Wars game on the market anymore. EA will release their first single-player title stemming from the franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, on November 15, 2019. That game paired with the movie may boost Star Wars Battlefront II sales this holiday season once again.
DICE has been on a “sequel treadmill” for some time, says Brännvall. It’s clearly starting to take a toll on the company. Battlefield V launched late last year with very little content compared to previous entries in the series. At this time, it seems like simply adding new content to Star Wars Battlefront II will be the continued focus at DICE, so don’t expect the third Battlefront entry anytime soon.
[Source: Gamesindustry.biz]
