Star Wars fans have reacted with anger after it emerged that they’ll have to spend quite a bit of time playing Star Wars: Battlefront II if they want to unlock some of the classic characters from the iconic franchise without paying for them.
The video game sequel is set for release on November 17, and will offer gamers the chance to unlock gameplay with iconic characters such as Darth Vader if they prove themselves to be accomplished in the ways of the force.
But there’s also a slight snag. It’s been revealed that gamers will have to undertake an eye-watering 40 hours of gameplay before they’re given the chance to unlock the aforementioned characters.
The only way to bypass the 40 hours of gameplay is to stump up for game credits instead, with fans initially claiming that it would cost up to $80 to unlock a single character.
The decision has provoked such intense anger from fans that EA’s subsequent attempt to justify it became the most down voted comment in Reddit history.
In response to the backlash, EA has now announced that the price will be significantly slashed, while the time taken to unlock the characters will become more “accessible”.
In a statement, John Wasilcyzk, Executive Producer at developer DICE, said: “Making games great comes from regular tuning. As one example, today we’re making a substantial change based on what we’ve seen during the Play First trial.
You keep talking, and we’ll keep listening.
Today, we’ve drastically reduced the cost of hero unlocks in #StarWarsBattlefrontII. Learn more: https://t.co/H6m6ywGMAh pic.twitter.com/fJoJqWDRmo— EA Star Wars (@EAStarWars) November 13, 2017
“There’s been a lot of discussion around the amount of in-game credits (and time) it takes to unlock some of our heroes, especially Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Unlocking a hero is a great accomplishment in the game, something we want players to have fun earning. We used data from the beta to help set those levels, but it’s clear that more changes were needed.”