Doesnt matter. There will be always a storm if something is removed that people actually want. Remove wings or chat and you will see the reaction.
This game is advertised as MMO with an optional singleplayer (online only!) and has PvP inside. What do you think how many people got this game for the full price and expect it to actually be JUST THAT, what they paid for?
Look at the angry reviews on steam. 543 negative reviews, most of them are just the same - not enough action. This is not a small amount of people, something around 20% of all reviews on steam.
Yeah maybe some of them got the game without looking deep into it, but when i see something called MMO and multiplayer + PvP inside, i expect just that. A game where i can jump in and kick behinds without grinding for 500+ hours and then spending an hour to get an opponent who is actually willing to fight.
Huh, did you actually read the Steam page?
Like, just above where it classifies the game as a MMO, it also classifies it as a single-player game.
And the following is how Frontier describes the game's multiplayer in
its own Steam page:
Massively Multiplayer
Experience unpredictable encounters with players from around the world in Elite: Dangerous’ vast massively multiplayer space. Experience the connected galaxy alone in Solo mode or with players across the world in Open Play, where every pilot you face could become a trusted ally or your deadliest enemy. You will need to register a free Elite: Dangerous account with Frontier to play the game.
Notice how it explicitly tell the potential player how he can play in solo mode, and thus never meet anyone?
Also, PvP is never emphasized. There's a tangential reference in the paragraph I've quoted, and that's all that is said about PvP in the whole Steam page.
Sorry, but ED was never advertised or sold as a PvP-focused game. It allows PvP, but doesn't mandate it — as is obvious to everyone that did read the part where it talks about multiplayer, given that a solo player can never be forced into PvP.