When Ghost Recon Breakpoint hit early access this week, a number of players balked at the amount of “time-saving” microtransactions found in the game. Now, following player feedback, it looks like Ubisoft is temporarily removing these Ghost Recon Breakpoint microtransactions.
Talking to PCGamesN, a Ubisoft representative explained that the “time-saving” microtransactions were not supposed to be in the game at launch.
“We are aware that during the Early Access of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint on October 1, some Time-Savers items (skill point bundles, XP boosters, [and] parts bundles for advanced weapon upgrades) were available for purchase for a few hours in our store,” stated the Ubisoft representative. “But this was not our intention and was an error on our behalf.”
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While they’re being removed, it looks like the microtransactions will be returning at a later date.
“These items were designed as an optional way for players arriving later to the game (post-launch) to catch up with those who have been playing for longer and enjoy our co-op and challenging end-game experiences,” said the rep. “These Time-Savers have since been removed from our store for now.”
Of course, the presence alone of these kinds of microtransactions raises the fears of the game fostering a “pay-to-win” environment. However, Ubisoft denied that this is the case. “Time-Savers were not designed to grant any advantage over players choosing not to use them,” explained the representative. “Additionally, Ghost War PvP has been carefully balanced to ensure that no matter your experience as a player, no one has a critical advantage based on their progression.” They then mentioned that players will also be able to unlock skills and items through playing the game.
In addition to this, the game’s own website also notes that players’ gear level is disabled in PvP modes. Instead, weapons have PvP-specific damage values, and the stats that players get from their gear will be capped. With this in mind, the microtransactions will hopefully not affect players too much once Ubisoft brings them back.
