I’m still worried about Diablo IV’s cosmetic-only microtransactions

Enlarge / Get your premium currency ready. (credit: Blizzard) A couple of weeks ago, Blizzard published a long-awaited update about its upcoming action role-playing game Diablo IV. The post shared some new information about how seasons will work and explained how the company plans to shake up the metagame by continuously releasing new content. But […]

‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ revives microtransactions for cosmetics

Star Wars Battlefront II’s pay-to-win loot crate fiasco more or less ended when Electronic Arts made it so the game’s Star Card power ups could only be earned through gameplay. A month later, the company is cautiously reintroducing the buy-with-real-money Crystal currency, but you can only use it to snag cosmetic upgrades. Oh, and there’s […]

Star Wars: Battlefront II microtransactions go offline until EA can ‘make changes’

Earlier today, Electronic Arts chief executive officer Andrew Wilson had a phone call with The Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Iger about Star Wars: Battlefront II. A few hours after that call, and players are finding that the option to purchase the premium crystals currency is no longer working. EA has now confirmed that […]

Activision’s patented method to drive microtransactions with matchmaking

Enlarge / Want to have a cool sniper rifle like your Call of Duty partner? Authorize a charge of $ 4.99 RIGHT NOW! (credit: Activision) In a US patent filed in 2015 and approved yesterday, Activision outlines an online matchmaking system designed to “drive microtransactions in multiplayer video games” and “influence game-related purchases.” Patent #9789406, […]

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds microtransactions lead to first major fan backlash

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds fans are upset, and they are letting the world know it on forums like Reddit and Steam. Yesterday, Bluehole announced that microtransactions are coming to the last-player-standing shooter that’s become a PC gaming phenomenon. This enraged many people because Battlegrounds is still in Early Access and is a premium-priced game. With the development […]