Last week, fans of the Metal Gear franchise were disappointed to learn that Metal Gear Survive will have microtransactions and requires an Internet connection. Some fans argued that microtransactions should have no place in a paid-for game such as this.

Konami hasn't announced any drastic changes such as temporarily removing microtransactions, Star Wars Battlefront 2-style, but one key developer has now shed a bit more light on the game's business model. In an interview with the Official PlayStation Magazine UK (February 2018, Issue #145), Metal Gear series producer Yuji Korekado says that "There will not be loot boxes and there will not be pay-to-win types of MTX [microtransations]. There will be things like the accessories in Metal Gear Online, and Forward Operating Base in The Phantom Pain."

On the one hand, Korekado's comments will assuage concerns that Metal Gear Survive players will be at a significant disadvantage if they do not fork out for microtransactions. Many others games have been hit with pay to win concerns, including the forthcoming EA Sports UFC 3, the FIFA franchise (the FIFA Ultimate Team mode), and multiplayer shooter Paladins. All of these games have been accused of letting players pay to gain a significant gameplay advantage, and fans will be glad to see that Metal Gear Survive isn't following suit.

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Likewise, the inclusion of loot boxes in games has led to conversations about whether the business model should be classed as gambling. There is so much controversy surrounding loot boxes, in fact, that politicians in several countries (including Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States) have made moves to introduce legislation against them. But Metal Gear Survive players won't have to worry about the game getting caught up in that, or that the game will promote gambling through loot boxes.

However, there is one other side to the microtransactions debate that Korekado's words don't touch upon: that microtransactions force players to grind. While it's positive to hear that the microtransactions won't include loot boxes and won't be pay to win, because of that, players may still feel forced to put a huge amount of time into the game in order to progress.

One of the biggest criticisms of the Metal Gear Survive beta has been that it feels like a grind, because of how its microtransactions business model works. The beta is only an in-development slice of the full game but it seems as though this part of the issue will not be addressed or fixed in the game's proper release.

Metal Gear Survive will be available on February 20 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Official PlayStation Magazine UK