As StarCraft II goes free-to-play today, unlocking the game’s multiplayer features and rewarding you with free campaigns based on what you already might own, the game’s social media team decided to bounce off of recent controversy to help boost their message. Star Wars Battlefront II, a game which isn’t free-to-play and costs a full $60, has been under fire for its pay-to-win mechanics in multiplayer and egregious loot crate system. So StarCraft Twitter used this chance to point out just how little they share in that regard.
Namely, none at all. In a series of tweets the account expressed how the free-to-play version doesn’t lock content behind payment or experience gates. That means no locked commanders for co=operative play, no looked units for multiplayer and free access to parts of the single-player campaigns. They also took a direct jab at pay-to-win mechanics, pointing out that no monetary investment will give you an advantage online. Something Battlefront II can’t say.
You can see the series of tweets below:
Number of hours it takes to earn the full StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Campaign: 0
— StarCraft (@StarCraft) November 14, 2017
Number of hours before you can play ANY Co-op Commander in StarCraft II: 0
— StarCraft (@StarCraft) November 14, 2017
Number of pay-to-win mechanics in StarCraft II: 0
Free to Play – Now Live! pic.twitter.com/a02OYUCYZU
— StarCraft (@StarCraft) November 14, 2017
Of course, this is all opportunistic marketing from a company (and publisher) that has been under fire for many of the same things in the past. Hearthstone, for example, might be a free-to-play title, but has proven that competitive play requires hefty amount of monetary investments every few months with new expansions. Activision, who own Blizzard, have also implemented many loot crates systems in their games, with Overwatch, Call of Duty: WWII and more in recent times. There’s no way you can take the jabs as an indication of disgust at EA’s practices, because honestly Activision are just as complicit.
But it’s funny nonetheless, during a week where a bit of levity around the issue is perhaps warranted.
Last Updated: November 15, 2017
Guz
November 15, 2017 at 08:45
Pot calling the Kettle?
Galbedir
November 15, 2017 at 08:45
Always find it odd how people seem to compare Overwatch’s loot crate system to Battlefronts…I can honestly say I have never ever felt the loot boxes in Overwatch have effected anything else but cosmetics, and even then, I have probably played about 150 hrs of Overwatch, and have about 3-4 extra skins per character, and 5-6 Legendary skins. I understand that other companies may have seen these loot boxes and thought ‘How can we get even more money from this system’. But cant blame Blizzard for implementing a near perfect cosmetic system, and other companies taking advantage to try bleed extra from consumers.
Admiral Chief
November 15, 2017 at 09:18
Indeed
BakedBagel
November 15, 2017 at 11:22
ayyy last month we had a few people here. saying that because your character looks cool you somehow perform better than someone with a stock skin lmfao????