Only Cosmetic Microtransactions Will Be in AnthemÂ
As we get closer and closer to the release of Anthem on February 22nd, fans have begun to wonder if the experience might get sullied with loot boxes or pay-to-win content.
It’s a reasonable concern too. After all, Anthem is published by Electronic Arts who tried to implement a controversial loot box model into 2017’s Star Wars: Battlefront II. If you’ve somehow forgotten, after a huge outcry from beta testers and the community, a decision was made to remove the loot boxes from the game right before launch with only cosmetic microtransactions left for purchase. In the end, it was the right call to make but it still left a sour taste in everybody’s mouth and may have even hurt EA’s relationship with Disney.
So it’s understandable why gamers might be hesitant to jump into Anthem right away. Well, we have some good news. it seems that EA and BioWare have no intention to make the same mistake again. Michael Gamble, the lead producer on Anthem, recently had to defend his game after a Twitter user made accusations that the game will still have loot boxes. If you still have worries, Gamble makes it pretty clear in his reply.
We aren’t going to add loot boxes. It serves no purpose. The cosmetics and mtx plan is what we’ve outlined. Legion of dawn is 4 new armour packs. They aren’t just skins. Each javelin has 4 armour bits. You get 16 with LOD + wpn + other goodies
— Michael Gamble (@GambleMike) January 11, 2019
“We aren’t going to add loot boxes. It serves no purpose,” he says. “The cosmetics and mtx [microtransaction] plan is what we’ve outlined. Legion of dawn is 4 new armour packs. They aren’t just skins. Each javelin has 4 armour bits. You get 16 with LOD + wpn + other goodies.”
So there you have it. Progression-based loot boxes serve no purpose in Anthem, but cosmetic purchases do. This model has proved to be successful in other competitive games like Overwatch.
One thing to keep in mind is that Anthem’s post-launch content has yet to be revealed. And while we don’t expect loot boxes to suddenly pop up later, it’s entirely possible there will be other forms of paid DLC like expansions. But for now, let’s revel in the good news.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.