After getting uncheck for years, governments are finally touching this sensitive topic of video games - Microtransaction. With the loom of many upcoming investigations, some giant developers and publishers are proactively making changes to their main means of taxing players. And Coalition - the developer of Gears 5 - is not an exception.
Gears 5 will not have any Lootboxes
Game developers have shown us their creativity in the ways they deal with the microtransaction. Recently, we've seen a very "innovative" methods from Electronics Art. In details, the giant has defended their loot boxes policies, and call it "surprise mechanics". LOL!
Changing the understanding by wording maybe just a vague way to deny loot boxes' mechanics, but it's what EA have come up with at this moment. And they'll definitely not the only one to do that.
However, sidestepping it entirely is also a good solution, too. And Coalition is choosing this option.
Recently, Coalition has updated on its community website some new changes with Gears 5, and it's a great news for players!
To be more specific, from now, Gears 5 will get rid of all gear packs and season pass. Additionally, the developer will also provide all DLC maps for free. Players won't have to pay for anything to use those maps in both normal matchmaking and private games.
Furthermore, the developer also announced that all purchase in-game will be direct. This means that you'll get exactly whatever you buy instead of randomly chosen from the RNG (Random number generator)!
But the developer needs to earn money after all!
Without major purchases, the developer has lost a huge means of sucking money from our pockets. So they've to make up for that by introducing new grinding mechanics.
The first one is a new system namely "Tour of Duty". It will allow you to gain items for grinding the game and complete missions. Specifically, the game will provide Daily Challenges, and if you finished multiples of them, you'll gain the seasonal Medals as well as other items, such as character skins.
The other one is the Supply Drops. According to Coalition, the more time you spend playing, the more chance you'll end up with random item drop. But if you've already owned that item, here's the compensation from the developer:
“If you draw a duplicate card, we’ll automatically turn it into Scrap. Scrap can be spent on crafting Supply items you don’t have or character skills you want to upgrade.”
And alongside the free features, the game still keeps a microtransaction, which is Iron - the main currency in Gears 5. You can use Iron to buy some items from the Supply, including the boosts which accelerate your grinding speed. It will provide you with the followings:
- Double Multiplayer XP
- Double Character XP for Escape & Horde
- Double speed Supply Drop Progression
However, the purchase will be limited, so you can't dominate other people with a bunch of dollars.
"You will also be able to earn a limited amount of Iron through each Tour of Duty to spend in content in the Store."
It's a win for us gamers
The one which benefits the most from this microtransaction eliminating trend is no one else but us.
Even for players with a great budget, spending too much money on video games will not do any goods. And the story of low-budget gamers is even more simple. No one wants to get dominated by the low-skilled players who have only gained the advantages by equipping the characters with cash.
As a result, we can be happy grabbing a favorite title to grind, and watching the developer dealing with the microtransaction bans!
That future is not so far from us anymore!
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