Despite The Loot Box Controversy, EA's Star Wars: Battlefront Games Are Hugely Successful

The Star Wars: Battlefront series from Electronic Arts is a tremendous commercial success, despite all the hullabaloo about loot boxes and microtransactions. The publisher confirmed in its latest earnings report that the 2015 Star Wars: Battlefront and its 2017 sequel Battlefront II have combined to sell 33 million copies.

No details were provided about how the sales numbers break down by title. However, EA did disclose earlier that Battlefront II sold 9 million copies over its first three months in 2017, which compares to 13 million copies sold for the first Battlefront over its first quarter in 2015.

With both Battlefront games now combining for 33 million sales, it seems the titles performed very well after their initial releases.

EA caught a lot of flak over how Battlefront II allowed players to buy loot boxes--which contained items that affected gameplay--for real money. This controversy led to a global discussion about loot boxes, and various lawmakers around the world began looking into best practices. In the United States, the ESRB has begun to place stickers on game boxes to inform purchasers about whether or not a game has loot boxes. Additionally, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have announced plans for further disclosures about loot boxes.

33 million in sales for both Battlefront games is a huge number, but it only begins to describe how much money the games are bringing in. Battlefront II got rid of loot boxes, but the game does have numerous microtransactions available for players, and EA's live services--which cover these microtransactions--are booming at the publisher right now.

Impacting the profitability of the Battlefront games is the fact that EA must pay Disney/Lucasfilm a licensing fee. Terms of EA's deal with Disney are unknown, however.

There is no word yet on if EA will make Star Wars: Battlefront 3, though given the success of the first two games that seems likely. The franchise is developed by DICE, which is making a next-generation Battlefield title and another mysterious title.

EA's next Star Wars games is Jedi Fallen Order, which launches on November 15 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This game is not expected to be as popular as either Battlefront title, as EA is modeling sales of 6-8 million copies during its launch quarter.