Early Xbox One action game Ryse: Son of Rome is set to release on PC October 10th. It will come with several new features, such as all the DLC released for the Xbox One version (free to all players), a soundtrack (available through pre-order), etc.
But what’s more interesting is what this version omits: microtransactions.
Crytek, through its company blog, announced that they will remove microtransactions from the PC version of Ryse. They have not said how this will apply to the Xbox One version. Nor have they explained why they chose to omit microtransactions. The blog post instead advertises what players can expect to get from this version. It mostly focuses on improved graphical performance.
But there must be reasons.
Despite Crytek not offering any official statement behind their reasoning, we can infer well enough. They might have recognized that a free-to-play model does not fit certain genres well, and have adjusted Ryse accordingly.
Yet the implications might be more severe. Microtransactions held an important place in the Ryse experience, and Ryse was the launch game for the Xbox One. It was one of the most heavily advertised titles for the system early in its life. For a big change like this to come to the PC version does not bode well for the game’s success. Nor can it bode well for the Xbox One’s success, either, as recent events have already illuminated.
