Middle-earth: Shadow of War released on October 10th, 2017. While it was fairly praised and a huge commercial hit, many complaints were levied at the online store, which allowed players to purchase Orcs with money as well as in-game currency. In a surprising move, Monolith Productions has confirmed that Middle-earth: Shadow of War is pulling microtransactions from the online store.
Here’s what Monolith Productions said in a blog post:Â
We want to thank all of the Middle-earth: Shadow of War players, as we’ve learned a lot from you. Since we released the game last fall, we’ve been listening to your feedback and continue to update and improve the experience. With that in mind, we’ll be releasing a series of free updates in the coming months to offer current fans and new players the best Shadow of War experience we possibly can.
They go on to confirm that after receiving feedback, the ability to earn Orcs from War Chests and the ability to spend real money in the Market will be removed. The focus was intended to be on player stories with Orc followers, and they believe allowing players to purchase followers undermined this personal part of the story.
The ability to buy gold will be pulled on May 8th, 2018, while the Market itself will be taken down on July 17th, 2018. There will also be a series of free updates in the future for all players, with new skins, skills and more. The first of these will be an update to the Shadow Wars, or Act 4 in the campaign, with new storyline elements added.
This is a very interesting move however, it’s definitely praiseworthy that Monolith is listening to their fans like this. I enjoyed my time with Middle-earth: Shadow of War and I’m looking forward to the future updates.
