In the Anthem community, a discussion about the cash shop has arisen. While prices for the microtransactions have not yet been announced, BioWare at least rejected pay-to-win.
What happened? The cash shop of Anthem is already being hotly debated before the game’s launch. BioWare noted that the prices are not final and the amount shown in the shop image may not correspond to reality.
Nevertheless, players were horrified by the amount of currency required. The two currencies
- are “Shards”, which can be obtained for real money
- and “Coins”, which can be earned in-game.
Players are also concerned that Electronic Arts and BioWare may not only offer cosmetic items but possibly also materials for crafting for real money in the future.
What would that mean? Players can create upgraded gear or weapons in Anthem with the different requirements and the right materials.
So if materials could be purchased in the shop for real money, players could make themselves more powerful in-game with real money – something the developers have always said,that it will not be possible in Anthem.
What does BioWare say? The developers of Anthem are very active on social media. They spoke up on Twitter to reassure players with fears of P2W.
In response to the question of whether materials could be purchased for real money, Anthem’s executive producer Mark Darrah replied with a firm “No”.
The lead producer Ben Irving went into a bit more detail in his tweet. Players could purchase a limited number of crafting materials per week with Coins.
You can read here how loot and crafting work in Anthem.
Coins is the currency that can be earned in-game. In the VIP demo, players received Coins when they completed challenges. Whether this will remain the case in the final game is still unknown.
Where does the P2W fear come from? Some users on Reddit are complaining that some YouTubers spread a negative sentiment about the game.
Players are reporting on Reddit that it seems to be “in” to spread false information about the shooter. Big headlines about scandals can be marketed better with a trend like Anthem.
Some players also have their concerns due to the publisher Electronic Arts. The scandal around the loot boxes in Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is still fresh in players’ minds.
You want to try Anthem for yourself? We have everything you need to know about the Open Demo:
