EA Lowers Profit Forecast Amidst Star Wars Battlefront II Crate Controversy

Unless you've been living under a rock (or just really good at dodging the negative going ons in the gaming community), then you're aware that EA's more aggressive take on the usual microtransactions caused the company to take a lot of heat. It wasn't so much the loot crates themselves, but the fact that many of them were more coloured with a pay-to-win approach in mind. Because of this, Star Wars Battlefront II had a rocky launch despite making many fantastic improvements (hello, Iden!) from the previous installment.

Even The Game Awards this year seemed to be on the offensive against some of the more trigger happy statements made by the Mega publisher, including their declaration that players "don't want" single-player, linear games. In spite all of that, there is still an influx of new content for the game to celebrate the corresponding release of the Star Wars film - The Last Jedi. But even that wasn't enough and now it's been reported that EA has massively lowered their 2018 sales projections in direct response to the recent backlash.

Cowen, a reputable analyst firm, reports that Electronic Arts is taking a slightly less optimistic approach to their 2018 sales projections by lowering them for the upcoming quarter. Cowan states that the projected estimates have been lowered from their original 14 million down into a more realistic 11 million for the coming year. That's even with all of the massive online sales offering the new title for dirt cheap. It was also included in the report that EA is expecting a $4.08 per share pay out, which is lowered from the original $4.24 per share.

All in all, this move was to be expected. The backlash was immediate and very impassioned. Investors were even called into the spotlight by voicing their concerns, and even Disney made a response on the fiasco. Pair that with now a global investigation into the practice of loot boxes in games, and it's just a nasty time all around. That being said, Battlefront II does have a lot of good to offer. The multiplayer experience is balanced, and the single-player campaign was rich in story and strong character lead. With more single-player content on the way, it will be interesting to see where the latest title goes from here.

Star Wars Battlefront II is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.