Tag Archives: Microtransactions

Last week, Take-Two announced Private Division, a new label set to cater to indie titles on a much lower budget. The question on many people’s tongues was whether Private Division would push microtransactions as aggressively as its parent company, but according to Obsidian, they won’t be appearing in its upcoming …

A few weeks ago, Take-Two's CEO said in an earnings call that the publisher would be looking to include microtransactions in all of its games moving forward. This of course, arrived just before the Battlefront II loot box fiasco. Given the backlash EA is facing, other publishers are likely taking …

Update (22/11/17): Earlier this week, it came to light that EA may have fired Plants VS Zombies creator, George Fan, after he objected to putting microtransactions and pay to win mechanics in the sequel. The claim was made by an indie developer, rather than anyone directly involved, but now, a …

It seems that politicians in the US are also getting involved in the video game loot box debate. Earlier today, we learned that the Belgium Gaming Commission do consider loot boxes to be a form of gambling and now, politicians in Hawaii are calling out EA's “predatory practices” with Star …

While the current controversy surrounds loot boxes, the original debacle with microtransactions arose around free-to-play mobile games that employed an addictive design, ensnaring people into paying out the rear end. It turns out that developer Playsaurus feels pretty bad about the whole thing, dropping the free-to-play model for its upcoming …

It’s safe to say that EA and DICE have had a rough time with Star Wars Battlefront II after it was revealed that the title was ridden with pay-to-win loot crates. While its AMA did little to quell these concerns, DICE has gone one step further, temporarily removing all microtransactions …

Over the last several months, EA has been met with plenty of criticism over Star Wars Battlefront II and its microtransactions. The publisher has tried to quell these concerns in recent weeks but with the final game now available to play as a ten-hour trial, many have been left unimpressed …

Over the years, we have come to expect annual sports game releases. We see titles like Madden and FIFA pushed out on a yearly basis and sell millions of copies each time. However, things might not always stay that way, as EA's CEO, Andrew Wilson envisions a time where these …

We are currently at a point in gaming where most major publishers are keen to push micro-transaction sales and gain consistent revenue from games past the initial sale price. A lot of gamers might not be fond of this strategy, but unfortunately for them, it seems to be working. This …

It looks like the success of titles like NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto V has resulted in some core business changes over at Take-Two Interactive. During the publisher's most recent earnings call, its CEO confirmed plans to bring micro-transactions to all games going forward. This may not arrive in …

While microtransactions aren’t new to the gaming world, it has taken a turn in 2017 by making their way into single-player experiences such as Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Assassin’s Creed Origins. This has caused unrest in the gaming community, but Monster Hunter fans need not worry about such a …

It seems that Halloween scares came earlier than expected this year when pay-to-win concerns surrounding Star Wars Battlefront 2 loot crate arose. Luckily, EA is trying to improve its system and, unusually, is being quite forthright about it. During the beta for Star Wars Battlefront 2, progression was almost entirely …

Assassin’s Creed Origins released today, giving the series a soft reboot and taking players into Ancient Egypt where it all started. Surprisingly, there has been little to no publicity on the fact that the game does contain clearly pay-to-win microtransactions. Amidst the wave of games just released that contain controversial …

It’s no secret that EA is pushing microtransactions a lot harder in recent years, with concern particularly surrounding Star Wars: Battlefront 2’s loot crate system. Ex BioWare veteran Manveer Heir recently opened up about his experience working with EA, shedding light on the company’s latest approach to post-game monetisation. Just …

Since the alpha build of Star Wars Battlefront II, there have been concerns surrounding the game’s ‘Star Card’ system, which offer power-ups in multiplayer matches and can be obtained by paying extra money. This came to a head during the recent open beta, forcing DICE to respond. Now this week, …

Publishers have been putting a lot of time and effort into finding new ways to sell microtransactions to gamers. Some games have managed to get it right, while others have fallen flat and drawn criticism for it. Activision has become the latest example of this, as the publisher recently patented …

Over the last few months, there have been some growing concerns surrounding Star Wars: Battlefront and its in-game microtransaction system. This came to a head last weekend when the open beta kicked off. Fans didn't get the best impression of the loot crate system, so today, DICE has spoken out …

While titles like Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and Star Wars Battlefront II are coming under fire for their loot box microtransactions, Ubisoft is taking the safer route this year with Assassin’s Creed: Origins. There will be loot boxes present in the game, but before you roll your eyes too hard, …

Back when Warner Bros was set to release Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, the publisher ran into a bit of a marketing blunder with its YouTube coverage policies. Now, it seems that the publisher is set to receive some backlash again, this time with Shadow of War, as WB has …

Last month, it was revealed that PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds would be receiving a CS:GO style crate system for cosmetic items. This caused quite a stir as previously the PUBG FAQ had stated that cosmetic microtransactions would only appear after the game leaves Early Access. Now, Brendan Greene, the lead on the …

Over the years, publishers like EA have experimented with microtransactions in Triple A games quite a bit. Over time though, game makers have found more forgivable ways to include them, for instance, most people seem to be willing to accept loot boxes. However, those loot box systems are usually confined …

Since buying Minecraft for $2.5 billion, Microsoft has been mulling over ways to continue making money. Core game sales are still impressively high, with Minecraft averaging 53,000 sales per day over the course of 2016. However, There are a lot of people who already own the game, and Microsoft isn't …

Over the last few years, there have been plenty of horror stories going round of children being left unattended with smartphones or tablets and running up crazy charges on in-app purchases. Amazon was even taken to court over this particular issue, after the FTC received complaints from parents in the …

Back in the day, games didn't tend to come with microtransactions baked in and many look back on those times fondly. However, given the popularity of remastered games right now, this gives publishers a chance to force them in after the fact, which is exactly what has happened with Call …

A new version of beautiful hunting game, the Hunter, has been announced and it will do away with the series'  much hated micro-transaction model. Set to go on sale early in the new year, theHunter: Call of the Wild, will see gamers faced with just one payment and then in-game …

After six weeks or so out on the market, Gearbox's new multiplayer title Battleborn is going through some changes, with microtransactions set to be introduced in the game. On the 16th of June, a Battleborn update will add premium character skins and currency known as ‘Platinum' to buy them. Gearbox …

Microtransactions have become an expected part of any Ubisoft game, whether it be extra payment options to skip through content or additional ‘boosters' to speed up progress for those with less time. However, these options apparently won't be present in The Division, so while the game will have additional cosmetic …

Right on the back of the PayDay 2 microtransaction backlash, Tripwire Interactive has revealed that it will be putting microtransactions in to its Early Access title, Killing Floor 2. As you can imagine, a lot of players aren't too happy about it, despite the fact that Tripwire is only offering …

These last few weeks haven't been great for Overkill Studios. The team decided to silently put microtransactions in to the game, which caused a lot of uproar amongst players. Then things got worse when additional bonuses were added to the new microtransaction system, which caused the game's Steam Forum mods …

The Payday 2 player base has been in uproar since a recent update to the game introduced microtransactions, despite the fact that Overkill Studios at one point said that they would never resort to them. These premium crates can grant gameplay bonuses to players, which many have taken issue with. …