Microsoft recently announced that their soon to be published Rare developed pirate game, Sea of Thieves, will not be following the current trend of having loot boxes implemented in the gameplay but would instead only feature microtransactions to buy cosmetic pets for your characters. This has sparked some cheers of praise for the publisher for not bowing to the greedy current trends of the triple A gaming scene, however I don’t see it that way.
I remember not too long ago just how angry we all were at the idea of microtransactions being in full price games, claiming it was what would cause the downfall of the gaming industry. Yet here we are praising Microsoft for ONLY putting microtransactions in. It’s the equivalent of a beaten spouse being grateful for only being hit once that evening instead of multiple times, it’s still a terrible thing but we accept it as good because it’s better than the alternative. I won’t be praising Microsoft for this move, I will only do so once all of these extra money grabbing schemes are put aside and game development is instead the sole focus of the game itself rather than attempting to bleed their customers dry after launch.
That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.