In an interview with GameSpot, The Coalition’s Rod Fergusson reveals that the upcoming Gears of War 4 will have microtransactions in its multiplayer mode.
Many fans of Gears of War may have seen this coming: Gears of War 4 will have microtransactions. The microtransactions in Gears of War 4 were detailed earlier today by Coalition head Rod Fergusson, who revealed how microtransactions will work in the game, and what their purpose will be.
Inspired by games like Hearthstone, the Gears of War 4 microtransactions will see players purchase crates of card packs, using real world money or in-game currency, called credits. These card packs will contain various cosmetic items that players can use to make their weapons and characters stand out from the others that will be encountered in the Gears of War 4 multiplayer arena.
The fact that players will be able purchase these card packs using in-game currency instead of actual cash, if they so choose, means that they will probably be more open-minded when it comes to Gears 4’s microtransactions. Something else that will help The Coalition avoid fan backlash with the Gears of War 4 microtransactions is that they will be purely cosmetic, unlike the Halo 5 microtransactions, which some have accused of being “pay-to-win.”
Furthermore, microtransactions are not new to the Gears of War franchise by any means. Gears of War 3 had a lot of microtransactions, and the recent Gears of War: Ultimate Edition also had its fair share of purchasable cosmetics as well. However, Gears of War 4 is approaching microtransactions in a very unique way when compared to the previous games in the series, by selling players card packs instead of having them purchase specific skins.
Some may be worried that credits in Gears of War 4 will be hard to come by, in an effort to tempt players into using real money. On the contrary, Fergusson claims that Gears of War 4’s purchasable skins will be balanced enough so that players won’t be forced to use real money to have a steady stream of card packs to open. As explained by Fergusson:
Microtransactions aren’t inherently evil in games, and the way that Gears of War 4 is implementing them seems like the best way to use them. By having the card packs purchasable with in-game credits, it means that players can still gain access to the game’s cosmetic items without having to break out the checkbook. Having the microtransactions apply only to cosmetic items is also a plus, and means that players with bigger bank accounts won’t have any advantages over other gamers online.
“The notion that everything is earnable just through play means the only reason you would ever use real money is when you want to accelerate it. We’re going to be balanced where you’re going to be constantly getting crates, or enough credits to get crates through the game, so it really is just about your choice.”
Gears of War 4 will be available on October 11th, exclusively for Xbox One.
Source: GameSpot
