Monolith, developers of Shadow of War, announced big changes heading to their title. Among them, the biggest adjustment is the removing of microtransactions from the game. There will be a series of free updates coming within the next few months.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War was released last fall, but despite player concern about the games microtransactions before release, it still launched with them. All Gold and War Chests will be removed from the game’s store. Monolith stated that directly purchasing Orcs, “reduces the immersion in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortresses.”
Monolith also admitted the purchases “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. It allows you to miss out on the awesome player stories you would have otherwise created, and it compromises those same stories even if you don’t buy anything.”
Players who currently have Gold will still be able to use it, for a specific amount of time, and any Gold left over will be converted to in-game items. You can still purchase Gold from now until May 8th. However, permanent removal of Gold, War Chests, and the Market, will happen on July 17th.
Along with the removal of microtransactions, the development team is also updating the Shadow of War section of the game (where players defend their fortresses against Sauron’s repeated counter-attacks). It will be improved with new narrative elements which will streamline the experience.
Source: Monolith
