Microtransactions have been contentious for quite some time now, recently made even worse by EA's mishandling of Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Since then, gamers have been up in arms about microtransactions and their ability to make a game pay-to-win. Fallout 76, Bethesda's upcoming multiplayer survival game will also feature microtransactions, though Bethesda has now stressed that they are not pay-to-win.
Speaking in an interview at PAX Australia, Bethesda Spokesperson Pete Hines made sure to clarify that Fallout 76's microtransactions would be purely cosmetic and offer no competitive advantage over other players exploring the Wasteland. This very important, as PVP is a major component of the game, and the ability to purchase weapons in-game will cause some unbalanced scenarios almost without fail.
Fallout 76's microtransactions will use a system called Atoms, which players can either earn in-game or purchase with real-world money. Atoms can then be used in the Atomic Shop to purchase the cosmetic items. While the exact pricing hasn't been announced yet, Hines has stated that players will have plenty of opportunities to earn the currency through in-game events.
Hines defended the game's utilization of the system ferociously, "Folks that want to spend money on whatever the hell it is because they don't have enough Atoms, they can, but it's not, 'I'm now better playing against other players because I spent money.' It's not pay-to-win. And it's not loot crates."
Bethesda's past of DLC has been interesting. For the most part, the developer has done a great job of churning out large-scale expansions for its other games. However, it has made some controversial moves in the past regarding downloadable content. The company's horse armor DLC for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was met with a large amount of outcry from fans at the time.
The gaming landscape has since changed dramatically, and something as small as horse armor certainly wouldn't elicit the same reaction in today's market. Games like Fortnite now fund their entire game based on cosmetic items, so the practice has become more or less accepted by the vast majority of gamers.
So long as Bethesda stays responsible with its microtransactions, there's not much of a reason to be upset about them. They're an easy way for developers to make some more money and fund more projects, so they help the industry as a whole. Fallout 76's beta is now in full swing and the game releases in just a few weeks, so fans will be able to see how the in-game shop shakes out soon enough.
Fallout 76 will release on November 14th, 2018, for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: GameSpot