It would appear that despite promises that EA made before the game released, Battlefield 5 microtransactions may be coming to the game after all. This is according to an Amazon listing that offered pre-orders for Battlefield Currency on the Xbox One, which would be starting on January 18 of this coming year.
Earlier this year, in response to the extreme backlash over Star Wars Battlefront 2 and its microtransactions (which resulted in the game initially underperforming and for at least two other countries to enact legislation against the practice along with having a negative effect on EA stock), Electronic Arts told gamers that there would be no Battlefield 5 micortransactions, and instead everything would be free. That no longer holds true, but there is, if you can believe it, an upside.
While there will be Battlefield 5 microtransactions, they will not be as bad as they were in Battlefront 2. Battlefield Currency, which is different from the game’s already-present Company Coin currency, can only be used for cosmetics, rather than locking gear and perks behind paywalls. You buy Battlefield Currency, while Company Coin is earned by going through daily missions, rank ups, and special assignments.
The decision is likely in response to how Battlefield 5 is apparently underperforming, brought on by skepticism since Battlefront 2 and a good amount of bad press following various lukewarm reactions to the game’s debut trailer, which sparked a firestorm of debate over having women in the combat zone among other things, which EA responded to by saying that if gamers didn’t like it, they didn’t have to buy the game.
While most gamers don’t like microtransactions very much (if at all), the fact that the Battlefield 5 microtransactions are more for cosmetic items than being paywalls to gameplay like in Battlefront 2 and some other games with poorly-implemented mechanics like that is at least one positive thing in EA’s corner.
Once again, the microtransactions will be taking effect on January 18 of next year, but will only be used for cosmetic items, so you can safely ignore them if you don’t care about how your characters look.
