Ubisoft Community Manager Natchai Stappers confirms over Twitter that Tom Clancy’s The Division will not feature any microtransactions or any ‘pay to win’ feature.
In recent years, microtransactions has become an increasingly common – and unpopular – feature in many video games, so much so that gamers have been dissuaded from buying games that carry this option. With only one week to go before The Division is released, Ubisoft has announced that their upcoming third-person shooter won’t feature microtransactions, something that is sure to be welcome news for all gamers.
After Ubisoft nixed the idea of adding a level skip microtransaction to the game, Ubisoft Community Manager Natchai Stappers has recently taken to Twitter to confirm that The Division will indeed not feature microtransactions or any “pay-to-win” feature.
What muddles this statement from Stappers is that just last month, Ubisoft announced DLC plans for The Division, revealing that vanity packs could be bought as DLC. There isn’t really a proper definition for microtransactions in video games – when is DLC not a microtransaction? – but at least Ubisoft is not deliberately strong-arming gamers into buying DLC by locking out parts of the game until it is paid for. At the moment, it appears that microtransactions are not required for The Division, and any purchasable extras are optional won’t affect gameplay – not that this will appease those gamers who lament any microtransactions in any game that’s not free-to-play.
This certainly isn’t the first time that microtransactions have grabbed the headlines for a popular game. When Bungie announced their controversial decision to add microtransactions to Destiny, it was met with considerable displeasure by gamers. Similarly, players weren’t too happy over Ubisoft’s decision to add optional microtransactions in Assassin’s Creed: Unity and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate as a method of accelerated progression.
It appears that there is a bit of a fine line between microtransactions and DLC. Some gamers are fine with paying a little extra for games and add-ons, but many expect to get their money’s worth in extra content if they’re planning on dropping more money on top of a $60 game. While there will be outfit and weapon skins for sale in The Division, they’re only a small part of Ubisoft’s DLC plans, and it appears that the upcoming expansions will be quite extensive.
Having said that, Ubisoft has had a bit of a history of unsavory DLC practices, so it remains to be seen how all this will play out for The Division.
Tom Clancy’s The Division is set for launch on March 8, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
[Source:- Gamerant]
