EA Clarifies Battlefield Pay-to-Play Weaponry

Speaking with Shacknews, Electronic Arts has clarified reports of pay-to-play weaponry in the upcoming release of EA DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3, X360).

Responding to reports that ten weapons in the Xbox 360 multiplayer beta of the title were marked as purchasable from the Xbox Live Marketplace, a representative explained that some of the weapons would be made available as part of pre-launch promotional programs.

"Battlefield: Bad Company will release five unique weapons free of charge through five different promotional programs prior to launch," the rep noted. "EA will again make these weapons available to players free of charge after launch, in case anyone missed the pre-launch promotions."

The other five weapons will be made available to players who purchase the Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company, which will be released alongside the standard retail release this June. "For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item," the representative continued.

"All weapons are balanced for gameplay," they added. "More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items."