Shares of the Electronic Arts gaming corporation fell by 2.5% after public criticism due to loot boxes in the new online shooter Star Wars Battlefront II.
The cost of one EA share after the international release of Star Wars Battlefront II on November 17 dropped to $108.8.
This was preceded by a public apology from the general manager of the DICE game developer studio Oskar Gabrielson and the decision to disable gaming microtransactions indefinitely “until the problems are fixed.”
As the Wall Street Journal reported, EA’s temporary refusal from microtransactions was caused not by public criticism, but by pressure from Disney, which was afraid for the reputation of the Star Wars franchise it owned.
According to the WSJ, Disney CEO Robert Iger was warned about the situation around Star Wars Battlefront II.
The loot box scandal has so far affected only EA’s reputation, but has not affected the economic stability of the corporation in any way. The company’s shares have grown by 42% this year.
Moreover, EA’s latest report to the U.S. Government Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that the rejection of microtransactions did not affect the company’s forecast for the rest of the fiscal year.
Also on the topic: