Video game publisher EA have announced they are cutting the in-game cost to unlock characters in the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront 2. The move comes after EA faced a continued backlash against some of its monetisation decisions in Star Wars Battlefront 2, the sequel to the popular first person Star Wars shooter. The cost of being able to access 'heroes' such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader has been reduced by 75%, effective immediately, after it emerged that players would need to spend dozens of hours to earn enough in-game credits or spend real-world money to unlock the characters quicker.

"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," said John Wasilcyzk, Executive Producer at developer DICE in a blog post. "We continue to make adjustments based on your feedback as the game launches worldwide this week. 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."