Yesterday EA made the surprising move to temporarily suspend microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront 2 amid heated feedback from the community, but it looks like another game is getting some similar changes. Need for Speed Payback, the week-old racer that had a poor reception on release due in large part to its progression system pushing players towards microtransactions, is getting some updates that look to lessen the grind the game is criticized for.
The patch, which went live today, is detailed in a post on the Need for Speed subreddit made by one of the game developers at Ghost Games. Most of the major points involve increased reputation and bank yield from various events, likely in an attempt to speed up the game’s progression. The full details follow below:
- Increased the amount of REP awarded by taking part in events.
- Increased the amount of Bank awarded by taking part in events.
- Bait crates now reward increased REP.
- Bait crates now reward increased Bank.
- Competing against a Roaming Racer will reward you with increased REP.
- Competing against a Roaming Racer will reward you with increased Bank.
- Air Suspension will now appear more frequently within Shipments.
- Slightly increased REP and Bank for finishing an event outside of first place.
It’s unsurprising to see another EA title roll back its microtransaction model. The big release of Battlefront 2 has been mired with drama surrounding its heavy-handed microtransaction business model, which led to the most downvoted comment in Reddit’s history. The uproar for Payback’s loot boxes hasn’t been as ferocious or widely documented, but the game is taking small steps away from microtransactions in the shadow of Battlefront 2.
Will you be trying out Need for Speed Payback after this news? Let us know in the comments below!
