8 Most Notorious Video Game Cash Grabs This Decade

The straw that broke the camel's back.

Loot boxes in video games were already a hot topic by the time EA and DICE's Battlefront 2 was released. It seemed pre-launch, however, that Battlefront 2 was going to side-step the controversy by ditching paid-for DLC in favour of free updates including new maps and heroes. All was looking well until the loot crate system was revealed in the open beta.

Star Cards, the main source of upgrades for classes, were designed to be a grind. A player would have to sink in serious time on a class to get upgrades to play that class better. Makes sense.

What EA decided to do however was include Star Cards of varying rarities and powers in their loot crate system. This allowed players who didn't want to put the effort in to pay their way to top-tier power upgrades immediately. EA made Battlefront 2 pay to win.

Naturally, fans were outraged. The nuclear fallout from this discovery went so wide, EA temporarily shut down their loot box system.

It even made national news. Soon Disney were on the phone to EA upset with the Star Wars franchise being dragged through the dirt like this, and even politicians were chiming in, with one labelling it an "online casino designed to lure kids".