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It seems that all of the headlines around microtransactions and EA right now appear to be around Star Wars Battlefront 2, however many reviews of its recent Need for Speed Payback release also garnered a criticism of microtransactions.
Reviewers found that the progression of the game was slow and improving your car and unlocking items were geared (pun not intended) around a microtransaction system that would speed up your progression. So, as EA was readdressing its well-documented complaints around Star Wars Battlefront 2, developer Ghost Games has also amended the approach to the system in Need for Speed Payback.
Writing on the game’s Reddit page, developer Ghost said, "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.
"Today’s 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."
The changes to the game include a greater reward from events and the in-game ‘bait crates’, which rewards both in-game experience and currency. Previously, the developer had changed the cooldown time of certain teams for car improvements from 30 minutes to 10 minutes and had increased the rates for parts being rewarded.
