When Warner Bros. released Shadow of War in October of last year, the game launched with multiple kinds of microtransactions. Players could buy equippable gear and orcs, as well as lootboxes, all with real currency. While the game didn't lock any of its major content behind a paywall, fans found themselves disappointed by the extra grind required if you didn't pay up. The game, while favored by players and critics, found itself amidst controversy shortly after it released, further fueled especially after following EA's Battlefront II ire.

Presumably due to the negative perception of the game, publisher WB announced back in April that all microtransactions would be removed from the game at a later date. And now, as of today, it's happened. All purchases that could be made with real money have been taken out of Shadow of War.

For those that made in-game purchases and have leftover digital currency in Shadow of War, they'll be compensated with high level lootboxes to open, which have rare items in them. Developer Monolith Productions made the following statement regarding the removal.

While purchasing Orcs in the Market is more immediate and provides additional player options, we have come to realize that providing this choice risked undermining the heart of our game, the Nemesis system. Simply being aware that they are available for purchase reduces the immersion in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortresses.

 

[Kioku]

Aiight then. A half assed reason, but a good choice.

 

[Chary]

Do we dare hope that the industry has actually learned from its lootbox crazed mistakes?

 

[nonamejohn]

Lol, trying to revive sales ? It should have been this way from the beginning.

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Do we dare hope that the industry has actually learned from its lootbox crazed mistakes?

They will never learn. "Casuals" will still buy in mass. This is borderline pandering for more sales, nothing more.

 

[LittleFlame]

at least they're doing something now

 

[SuperDan]

Impressive move ...

 

[gamecaptor]

NOW I'm going to get into this game!

 

[hamohamo]

micro transactions should be banned from any game unless it's less than 10 bucks. and there should be a limit and rules (unless maybe if it's free)

 

[DinohScene]

Fuck lootboxes.
Glad they removed it even tho I don't play the game.

 

[SaiTheOHaireDeliveryGuy]

Why anyone would want to buy Orcs and Uruks is beyond me. The fun of these games for me was always to brand the ones I encountered, and level them up in the Pit.

 

[Hells Malice]

Honestly just another retarded non-troversy where people whined over nothing.

The microtransactions were effectively just there for people with more money than time. The game didn't really lock away anything, and the grind to get equal orcs and gear was fine. They essentially preyed on ADHD monkeys who want everything right now without effort, or desire to arbitrarily be the best before everyone. I'm perfectly fine with that.

I imagine this is just a PR stunt because the game has been out for long enough that they've sufficiently milked them enough to hit a quota, and they've likely dropped way off in frequency. This little announcement gets their game back in the news to catch some more sales. Pretty smart.

 

[gnmmarechal]

Oh, neat!

 

[The Catboy]

I really hope the rest of the game industry follows. Microtransactions and lootboxes have no place in non-free games.

 

[tbb043]

Do we dare hope that the industry has actually learned from its lootbox crazed mistakes?

Screw the industry. it's the people that actually paid for that shit that needed to learn their lesson, if they stopped, the industry wouldn't have fed into it,

 

[Subtle Demise]

Do we dare hope that the industry has actually learned from its lootbox crazed mistakes?

The problem is that game prices haven't adjusted for inflation. This causes publishers to implement schemes like loot-boxes and day one on-disc DLC to offset this. It's pretty late to change it abruptly now, but I think a steady price increase in games over the next few years would reduce these practices considerably.

 

[MarkDarkness]

The problem is that game prices haven't adjusted for inflation. This causes publishers to implement schemes like loot-boxes and day one on-disc DLC to offset this. It's pretty late to change it abruptly now, but I think a steady price increase in games over the next few years would reduce these practices considerably.

More likely they will continue having these microtransactions together with the elevated price. It would not make sense to do otherwise, because the microtransaction model has proven very successful. One game or another become the sacrificial lambs that have to die, but on the overall, it brings in a lot of money. It's normal risk-reward for businesses. These plagues that destroy gaming are probably here to stay.

 

[gnmmarechal]

I really hope the rest of the game industry follows. Microtransactions and lootboxes have no place in non-free games.

Eh, frankly I don't mind them much if they are done like CSGO does them, just for cosmetics.

 

[Xzi]

I really hope the rest of the game industry follows. Microtransactions and lootboxes have no place in non-free games.

It depends entirely on individual sales. I think this did poorly in sales up until they announced this removal of MTX would be happening, so it kinda forced their hand.

 

[The Catboy]

It depends entirely on individual sales. I think this did poorly in sales up until they announced this removal of MTX would be happening, so it kinda forced their hand.

Microtransations won't make up for a bad game. If a game is bad, then they should give out free updates to make it better. At the same time, they won't make a game sell any better, especially if they do what this game and Battlefront 2 did.

Eh, frankly I don't mind them much if they are done like CSGO does them, just for cosmetics.

I wish people would stop using this argument because it's same argument that got us into this mess in the first place. This compliant argument only allows them to keep pushing it and slowly conditioning us to accept their shit. "It's just cosmetics," "It's just a few guns," "It's only optional features," they want people to keep saying this until they get their end goal, which was Battlefront 2. That's the kind of game these companies want to make, a game that is completely unplayable until you pay for the "optional features" and "optional characters." You are basically feeding them every time you accept this excuse.

 

[Ritsuki]

Funny, I didn't even know that there was micro transactions in this game, but like @Hells Malice said, it's barely a controversy. It's just like with Deus Ex, if the game is fully playable, what is the problem? (although for Deus Ex, it was a shame that some of the items could be used only in one playthrough)

I understand that it can be a problem with multiplayer games if it's not balanced, but otherwise I can't see the problem with it. To be honest, if I could pay to access end game content in some MMO, or to make grinding faster and easier I would do it, I love MMOs but I don't have time to play seriously. But again, it's a matter of balance.