Publishing giant EA has once again announced changes to Star Wars Battlefront 2 amid a fan backlash.

In a blog post, the firm revealed that the amount of credits required to unlock characters such as Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Emperor Palatine, Chewbacca and Leia Organa hyas been cut by 75 per cent.

This follows an overwelmingly negative response from the fans to the implementation of microtransactions and progression blocks in the game. A comment explaining the thinking behind the system the DICE team went for is Reddit’s most-downvoted comment ever, with some fans choosing to send death threats to the developers of the game. This is the second time that EA has had to make changes to its monetisation options and progression in the game. 

The post also says that Battlefront 2 is a work in progress and that change will be coming in the future.

“Since the start of the project, listening to fans has been important in making sure Star Wars Battlefront II is the very best experience for all of you,” the team said.

“We’ve done this with the closed alpha, through the beta last month, and our Play First Trial. And we continue to make adjustments based on your feedback as the game launches worldwide this week. Listening, and providing choices in how you play, will always be our principle with Star Wars Battlefront II. We want to ensure the game is balanced and fun both today and for years into the future.

“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. 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.

“So, we’re reducing the amount of credits needed to unlock the top heroes by 75%. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader will now be available for 15,000 credits; Emperor Palpatine, Chewbacca, and Leia Organa for 10,000 credits; and Iden at 5,000 credits. Based on what we’ve seen in the trial, this amount will make earning these heroes an achievement, but one that will be accessible for all players.

“It's a big change, and it’s one we can make quickly. It will be live today, with an update that is getting loaded into the game.”

Once again, a major publisher doesn’t touch upon the sheer amount of bile and negativity surrounding this whole controversy and instead refers to the ‘passion’ of its fans. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

“We’ve also been listening to how much you’re loving features in the game (Starfighter Assault, 40 player MP battles, Darth Maul lightsaber throws, etc.) as well as what you haven’t liked. We know some of our most passionate fans, including those in our subreddit, have voiced their opinions, and we hear you,” the company wrote.

“We’re making the changes to the credit levels for unlocking heroes and we’re going to keep making changes to improve the game experience over time. We welcome the conversation.”