EA adjusts progression in Need for Speed Payback following microtransaction criticism

Such is the scale of the Star Wars Battlefront 2 outcry that another quieter controversy surrounding microtransactions in EA’s Need for Speed Payback has slipped under a lot of people’s radars.

The game entered the UK charts at No.4 last week but this week dropped all the way to 11th. The reviews have not been especially kind, and the most critical have lamented the fact that the game’s loot box system results in a quite frustrating late-game grind – that can be alleviated via purchasing microtransactions.

The new changes include increased REP and Bank for taking part in events. Bait crates also now give more REP and Bank, as does competing against a Roaming Racer. Air Suspension Shipments will now become more frequent, while the rewards for finishing a race outside of the top spot have also been ‘slightly’ increased.

“We’ve been working on improving your experience with the progression,” an announcement on Reddit confirmed. “We’ve been using Community feedback, along with our own in-game data and have come up with a number of changes, many of which are in the process of going live. Our aim with these changes is to make the progression, especially around the ownership of cars a much more enjoyable experience.

“If you’re currently playing the game while reading this, please restart in order for the changes to come into effect.

“[These] changes are just phase one and we have further tweaks coming. Coming shortly will be some changes to the way tune-up shops work, especially around the quality/level of parts they stock. More on that soon.

“It is worth noting that we do encourage you to recycle your speed cards for tokens. Targeted rolls are a very good alternative to tune-up shops. Definitely worth buying out the parts from the tune-up shop and recycling them.”