Shadow of War is removing microtransactions

Back at the end of last year Middle-earth: Shadow of War was one of the game that raised the question of microtransactions again when Monolith's single-player game included the practice, and now a new post on the Warner Bros. Games website has said that these will be removed in a free update coming to all players later this year.

"The core promise of the Nemesis System is the ability to build relationships with your personal allies and enemies in a dynamic open world," the post reads. "While purchasing Orcs in the Market is more immediate and provides additional player options, we have come to realize that providing this choice risked undermining the heart of our game, the Nemesis System. It allows you to miss out on the awesome player stories you would have otherwise created, and it compromises those same stories even if you don't buy anything. Simply being aware that they are available for purchase reduces the immersion in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortresses. In order to fully restore the core promise of the Nemesis System, we'll be permanently removing Gold, War Chests and the Market from Shadow of War. This means the option to purchase Gold with real-world money and the ability to gain Orc Followers from War Chests will be removed. There will be a specific amount of time given for players to utilize their unused Gold. If players have unused Gold by the end of the time allotted to spend it, any remaining Gold will be converted to in-game items."

What's more is that Monolith will also be updating Shadow Wars, improving them with new narrative elements and streamlining them for "a more cohesive experience". Future patch notes will give details on the specific improvements that are coming, which extends past Shadow Wars to player skins, the Nemesis System, skill tree addition, gear system upgrades, and a whole load more.

The update will be free for all owners of the game, with the ability to purchase Gold permanently ending on May 8. Gold, War Chests, and the Market will then be fully removed on July 17 to coincide with all the other updates above.

Do you still play Shadow of War?