 A long time ago, on an internet far, far away. It was a period of great sadness for fans of video games. While the year 2017 had given gamers plenty of incredible titles, it had also seen the rise of one of the most despicable, hated trends that the video game industry had produced in years. Large companies had begun to focus increasingly on microtransactions as a way to earn extra money from their customers. Now, in addition to paying for the games themselves, customers were also expected to throw money at their screens in order to buy loot boxes. These contained random gear and equipment that might, if they were lucky, make it easier to win while playing. This all came to a head when EA, the company that was solely responsible for licensed Star Wars video games, created Battlefront 2, a game so filled with loot boxes and microtransactions that it was almost impossible to unlock everything the game offered without paying real cash to speed things up. In the face of such a devilish, underhanded business technique, gamers stood up against their oppressors and fought to reject the game that was built from greed. This is the story of how a group of plucky rebels came together to overthrow an evil corporate empire in a desperate bid to return fair play and freedom to the galaxy. The warning signs were all present from the beginning. Not long after the Walt Disney Corporation bought the Star Wars franchise from its creator, George Lucas, gaming mega-giant Electronic Arts was awarded the sole license to create video games based on the popular movie series. This was the first blow in the war that would soon erupt over Star Wars. Many gamers cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. As they witnessed Disney dismantle LucasArts, the game studio responsible not only for classic Star Wars games of the past, but also beloved adventure games such as Monkey Island, Sam and Max, and Grim Fandango. These games would be locked inside the Disney vault, along with all newly cancelled Star Wars games that had been in development at the time. It became clear early on that EA wasn't too interested in breaking the mold with the Star Wars titles going forward. The first game that was announced was Battlefront, an online shooter that was reimagining of a popular pair of games from a decade before. This was perhaps the safest choice that EA could make, and those who still yearned for an older era of diverse Star Wars games found themselves disappointed. When Battlefront was released, it seemed that EA expected fans to rally behind it purely thanks to its familiar Star Wars elements. The game was lambasted for its lack of content, with only a few different levels and gameplay modes, and a complete lack of a single-player story campaign. Gamers were unimpressed, but what choice did they have? This was the only modern Star Wars game in existence. While it had clearly been rushed out to ensure that it was on store shelves in time for the release of the new Disney movie The Force Awakens, there was no other option for fans of the franchise who wanted to enjoy a crisp HD Star Wars experience. New content eeked out bit by bit over the next few months in the form of additional updates and downloadable content, but many agreed that this was a far cry from the Star Wars experience that fans had been hoping for. At first, Battlefront 2 seemed promising. When EA announced the game, they made sure to emphasise its story mode, which admittedly showed off something that Star Wars fans hadn't seen for a while, a sympathetic look at a foot soldier with a galactic empire. Excitement for the game ramped up, as EA insisted that this game would make up for the failure of its predecessor. Then, people actually got to play it, and the bubble of anticipation burst. Game journalists playing an early build of the game and beta testers who got to experience what was to come ran into the same problem, loot boxes. That year, plenty of big budget game studios had been putting a greater emphasis on random bonus content that could be purchased to make games easier. In Battlefront, this took the form of digital cards that could either be earned or purchased, which would randomly give players little bonuses such as the ability to play new characters. Early players of Battlefront 2 realised that the best of these cards were all but impossible to earn naturally within the game. It would take months and years of grinding in order to get the chance to play as iconic characters such as Darth Vader. Alternatively, if the player wanted to, they could pay EA real money for the cards, but they still couldn't choose which perks they'd gain. Everything was random, and gamers objected to being forced to gamble with real money in order to enjoy content within a video game. Everyone had been mounting all year over this issue. Plenty of other recent games, such as Shadow of War and Destiny 2, had used similar money-making tactics, but Battlefront felt like the most egregious example of this trend. The terror that EA was inflicting upon its customers became even more pronounced when the company disbanded Visceral Games, a popular studio that had been working on a single-player Star Wars title. EA publicly stated that part of the reason for cancelling the game was to build something else that would allow for greater monetisation. This felt strangely appropriate for Star Wars. EA was, in the eyes of many gamers, standing as a horrid, unstoppable evil empire, throwing their impressive resources behind a devious corporate strategy that hurt their customers as they held Star Wars to ransom. And so, faced with an evil empire, gamers took the lesson of Star Wars to heart as they formed their own Rebel Alliance. As EA prepared for a particularly lucrative festive season, the company failed to notice the seeds of rebellion forming amongst gamers. Online communities lit up, seemingly overnight, with the same unified response to EA's actions. Boycott the game. Don't buy Battlefront 2. Force the evil empire to change their ways or deny them the profits they so desperately craved. EA's big mistake was thinking that gamers couldn't live without Star Wars, that they'd roll over and accept whatever they were given even if they had to pay through the nose to properly enjoy it. EA was wrong. All at once, a rebellion had formed, and gamers were doing everything in their power to discredit the company and hurt its profits. Seeing too late how the tide was turning against them, EA insisted that their decisions with the game benefited all of their customers. The intent, EA claimed, was to give players a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes. Gamers called foul, and began using this egregious claim as a battle cry, ironically quoting EA's marketing buzzwords as they continued to spread their message of corporate defiance. As the game was released, Battlefront 2 suffered from poor review scores, in large part because of its pay-to-win gameplay model, and many of those who might previously have purchased the game allowed it to pass them by. What's more, many official government bodies around the world began debating the legal ramifications of glorified gambling systems within video games. EA's big money grab threatened to shine a light on the entire gaming industry, and a system of loot boxes that was designed to appeal to its most vulnerable players. It's a trap, argued one emphatic politician. We didn't allow Joe Camel to encourage your kids to smoke cigarettes, and we shouldn't allow Star Wars to encourage your kids to gamble. Chaos raged within EA. The bad press had taken a toll on the company, and pressure was coming from Disney to fix this PR nightmare. EA lost over $3 billion in stock market shares, as investors fled for safer, less publicly embarrassing financial opportunities. Sheepishly, the company was forced to remove all microtransactions from Battlefront 2, insisting that these would return only once they'd had time to recalibrate their systems to try and win back customer faith. Rebellious gamers breathed a sigh of relief. The war was far from over, but they'd won a decisive victory against the evil empire. They'd pushed back against EA, and had succeeded in freeing players from the company's icy controls. The more EA tightened its grip, the more microtransactions would slip through their fingers. The moral of this story is that underdogs really can triumph against those who wish to control them. EA made the mistake of underestimating its customers, and it failed to learn the lesson at the core of the Star Wars franchise. No controlling army, no matter how powerful, can keep its subjects obedient through sheer force of might. The ability to control the Star Wars license is insignificant next to the power of internet revolutions. Don't underestimate what you can achieve. Sometimes, all it takes is for one person to be the spark that will light the fire that will burn an evil empire down.