Maybe 2018 will be the year that publishers decide to scale back on plans to make increasingly expensive video game development cycles a touch bit more profitable. At least that’s what analyst Doug Creutz from financial service and investment banking firm Cowen alluded to, when he spoke to clients on CNBC .

Yes, we’re still talking about Star Wars: Battlefront II’s lootboxes. Sorry. Anyway, one of the principal concerns many had with those lootboxes was that they impacted player progression and unlocks, instead of taking the tried and trusted (and far less egregious) route of making their contents cosmetic vanity items. Had the paid lootboxes only unlocked outfits, accessories and skins as …

Star Wars Battlefront II showed promise. It had a single-player campaign, it looked like EA had been paying attention to criticism from the first game and the amazing visuals had been even further refined. What the hell went wrong then? What happened between Battlefront games, that resulted in the sequel being universally slammed and outnumbered by sales of the original game in launch week? As usual, it came down to one simple factor: Greed. Here’s a breakdown on how Battlefront II shot itself in the foot.

"The mixing of money and addiction is gambling," says Belgium's Gaming Commission, who now wants predatory loot boxes in games banned throughout Europe.

A tale of two galaxies apart, Star Wars Battlefront II is a big stride forward in the right direction that's yanked strongly backwards by overly complicated and predatory business decisions.

"If you take a step back and look at the data, an hour of video game content is still one of the cheapest forms of entertainment," says an analyst, suggesting that gamers pay even more for their games.

Star Wars Battlefront II is out today, bringing FPS combat from a galaxy far, far away to your consoles and computers. Its microtransactions have been a contentious issues, nearly setting the internet on fire – mostly because they’re predatory, and they directly impact progression through the game. It appears your voices have been heard, at least for now.

Lootboxes (and their associated microtransactions) are a contentious issue. While many appear to have no issues at all with the systemsome find them analogous to gambling. In Belgium, any sort of gambling - digital or not - needs to have a permit from the country’s gaming commission. They’re now investigating whether Star Wars Battlefront II (and Overwatch) lootboxes are akin to gambling.