Post
EA gave players a 'sense of pride and accomplishment' and accidentally united the entire internet against pay-to-win mechanics.
Loot boxes (randomized virtual item packs purchased with real money) had been creeping into games for years, but Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) broke the dam. EA locked iconic characters like Darth Vader behind either a 40-hour grind or loot box purchases in a $60 game. When an EA community manager defended the system on Reddit as providing 'a sense of pride and accomplishment,' the comment became the most downvoted in Reddit history with over 683,000 downvotes. The backlash was so severe that EA removed microtransactions before launch day, governments launched investigations, and Belgium outright banned loot boxes as gambling.
Example
EA's infamous Reddit comment defending Battlefront II's progression system received 683,000 downvotes, a record that still stands. The backlash wiped billions off EA's stock price and triggered legislative hearings in multiple countries about whether loot boxes constitute gambling.
Why it matters
The Battlefront II controversy was a watershed moment that permanently changed how the industry approaches monetization. It accelerated the shift toward battle passes and cosmetic-only purchases, and put loot boxes under regulatory scrutiny worldwide.
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