14 DAY TRIAL // The Coalition, the studio developing the new Gears 5 in the Gears of War universe, explained a little bit more on how they are going to monetize the game after the launch.
With just a few exceptions in the industry, studios and publishers are trying to get more money out of a product after they sold it. For the longest time, the common way was to implement some form of the infamous “loot boxes” system, but the community is really starting to hate them.
Another way to get some money from players is by selling them cosmetics, like new skins for a weapon or a new model of armor. The best-case scenario is that micro-transactions don’t have any sort of impact on the gameplay, but that’s not always the case.
It’s a new monetizing model
The developers from The Coalition took some of the existing micro-transaction and monetization concepts and changed them in a new way. Until we get to play the game is difficult to say if it’s for the better or for worse.
Basically, Gears 5 will have an in-game store that takes the Iron currency, which can be used exclusively for cosmetics. The good news is that some of that content will be available to people who don’t want to pay but are playing the game on a regular basis. Also, the heroes can be earned and purchased at the time. It’s a fine line to walk in the gaming community.
In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Ryan Cleven from The Coalition seem to be very hopeful when it comes with monetization. “We really think we're ahead of the industry here in getting rid of loot boxes and making sure that we can both service people that are looking to accelerate their progression or earn cosmetics using money but also keeping the integrity of the game experience.”
Gears 5 is expected to arrive on PC and Xbox One on September 10th. In first for the Gears of War franchise, the new game will also arrive on Steam, a day earlier, and it will be playable by Windows 7 users.