The details on the next RPG by Obsidian Entertainment are scarce, but one thing is for sure: it will have no loot boxes or other forms of microtransactions.
Microtransactions have been viewed by the gaming community as a scourge to the industry, as some publishers and developers try to squeeze the most amount of profit that they could from the titles that they create.
The Next Obsidian RPG Will Have No Microtransactions
Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind popular titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, Tyranny, and the Pillars of Eternity series, has kept its current project under wraps. However, the developer has confirmed one thing about the upcoming RPG.
"No microtransactions, of any kind, in our game," the studio said in an official statement in its forums. The company added that its partnership with Private Division, the indie publishing form of Take-Two Interactive, has not forced Obsidian into a certain direction with the development of the new RPG, including whether or not it will contain microtransactions. The studio said that Private Division has been "incredibly supportive" of its vision with the unannounced game, and reiterated that it always places gamers first in all the decisions that it makes.
Obsidian made the announcement in response to questions from gamers, who were concerned when Take-Two Interactive's Private Division was announced as the upcoming RPG's publisher. The worries come from a statement made by Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick that all games by the publisher, in addition to actual sales, will count more on "recurrent consumer spending," a fancy word for microtransactions.
Gamers Hate Microtransactions
Microtransactions have become the norm in the video game industry, and perhaps Take-Two Interactive had a fair share in making that happen. Grand Theft Auto V last month became the best-selling video game of all time in the United States, with the 4-year-old title maintaining popularity primarily due to microtransactions in its GTA Online component.
The most recent high-profile issue surrounding microtransactions involved Star Wars: Battlefront II. Electronic Arts was forced to reduce costs, and then eventually temporarily deactivate microtransactions in the game before its launch due to massive backlash on the excessive requirements to unlock certain Star Wars: Battlefront II characters.
The Belgian Gaming Commission has even declared loot boxes and other forms of microtransactions as gambling, a ruling that might spread to other countries around the world.
Obsidian's decision to not include microtransactions in its next RPG is a strong move, and hopefully it proves that games without microtransactions, as long as they are developed well, will still be able to translate to profits.
