With the gambling authorities of both Belgium and the Netherlands now looking into the implementation of loot boxes in Star Wars Battlefront II, publisher EA has doubled down on its stance that these do not constitute gambling.

Speaking to GameSpot, the company reeled out a lot of the usual lines: that players don' t need to spend a penny, that users always get something when they play... you get the picture.

"Creating a fair and fun game experience is of critical importance to EA," the firm said.

"The crate mechanics of Star Wars Battlefront II are not gambling. A player’s ability to succeed in the game is not dependent on purchasing crates. Players can also earn crates through playing the game and not spending any money at all. Once obtained, players are always guaranteed to receive content that can be used in game."

This news follows EA announcing its decision to ditch microtransactions from Star Wars Battlefront II for the time being.

In other EA microtransaction news, the publisher has also announced changes to Need for Speed Payback's progression.

"We’ve been working on improving your experience with the progression," a post from the publisher on Reddit said.

"We’ve been using community feedback, along with our own in-game data and have come up with a number of changes, many of which are in the process of going live. Our aim with these changes is to make the progression, especially around the ownership of cars a much more enjoyable experience."

The post continues: "Today’s changes are just phase one and we have further tweaks coming. Coming shortly will be some changes to the way tune-up shops work, especially around the quality / level of parts they stock. More on that soon.

"It is worth noting that we do encourage you to recycle your speed cards for tokens. Targeted rolls are a very good alternative to tune-up shops. Definitely worth buying out the parts from the tune-up shop and recycling them."