The widespread backlash against paying real money for randomized loot boxes full of in-game items has claimed another high-profile victim. Last night, developer Monolith announced that it will be “permanently removing Gold, War Chests, and the Market” from Shadow of War in the coming months, effectively ending the game’s paid microtransaction system.

Currently, Shadow of War lets players purchase in-game Gold with real money, then use that Gold to purchase Golden War Chests which contain randomized, high-level Orc followers to fight alongside them. After listening to fan feedback, though, Monolith now says, “the core promise of the Nemesis System is the ability to build relationships with your personal allies and enemies in a dynamic open world. 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.”

Furthermore, the developer acknowledges that the mere existence of this paid, randomized marketplace “compromises those same stories even if you don’t buy anything. 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.” That’s some major pushback to the standard industry counterargument that players who don’t like loot boxes should just ignore them.

To make up for the lack of War Chests, Monolith says “there will now be more ways to recruit and upgrade Orcs, including recruitment during Online Conquests and Online Vendettas, as well as having more Legendary Orcs present in the game.” Those changes could be seen as another sign of the effect paid microtransactions had on the design of other parts of the game, even for players uninterested in spending real money on items.

Shadow of War players will no longer be able to purchase Gold starting on May 8, and the ability to purchase War Chests will end on July 17. Any remaining Gold players have in their accounts will be automatically converted to the appropriate number of War Chests when the transition is made.

After the update, players will also be unable to purchase randomized Silver War Chests using Mirian, another in-game currency that can be earned exclusively through normal gameplay. Some PC players had already resorted to hacking to generate infinite Mirian as a way to lessen the grind of earning those War Chests (Mirian will still be usable for other in-game upgrades following the update).

The Shadow of War announcement comes just a few weeks after EA and DICE announced that it would not be bringing “pay-to-win” loot boxes back to Star Wars Battlefront II, after a massive fan outcry led to their removal last year. It also comes as a number of states and at least one US Senator consider legislation to regulate randomized in-game purchases, especially as they apply to children.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1287357