The Controversial Feature Will Be Removed Permanently Says the Developer
Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the open-world third-person Lord of the Rings game, will no longer have microtransactions, announced Monolith Productions, the gameโs developer, on Monday. They also announced that there will be several free updates for the game that will be launched in the coming months.
The ability to buy in-game currency with real money will be no longer be available on May 8th and other microstransaction features (such as Gold, War Chests and the Market) will be removed from the game on July 17th.
The decision to remove microtransactions was made due to player feedback, Monolith explained.
โIn order to fully restore the core promise of the Nemesis System, weโll be permanently removing Gold, War Chests and the Market from Shadow of War,โ read an official forum post about the decision. โThis means the option to purchase Gold with real-world money and the ability to gain Orc Followers from War Chests will be removed.โ
โWhile 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,โ the forum post explained. โIt allows you to miss out on the awesome player stories you would have otherwise created, and it compromises those same stories even if you donโt buy anything.โ
The post also explained that knowing that you had the option to purchase orcs with real money โreduces the immersion in the worldโ and took away from the army and fortress building aspects of the game.
Monolith also announced that they will update Shadow of Warโs gameplay and narrative. Theyโll also be adding new player skins, skill tree additions, progression updates and more.
Microtransactions have come under alot of scrutiny and criticism lately. Last year, a U.S. lawmaker described loot boxes as an โonline casino specifically designed to lure kids into spending moneyโ and legislation against microtransactions has been introduced.
What do you think about this decision by Monolith? Do you think that Shadow of War will be improved with the removal of microtransactions? Let us know what you think in the comment section!