343 Industries Release Statement on Microtransactions in Halo 5: Guardians!

Microtransactions are one of the most controversial topics among gamers, and games that include them tend to be frowned upon. There are some exceptions, and clearly the system can sometimes be applied in a productive way that actually benefits players, such as cosmetics and things that don’t give one player an unfair advantage over others. However, even then microtransactions tend to have their limitations, as players tend to disagree with having them in a paid game, for example.

Which is why the recent revelation that “Halo 5: Guardians” is going to include such a system has caused a lot of upset in the franchise’s community, with many players taking to the game’s forums to express their disappointment – and in some cases, their outrage. The situation got so bad that 343 Industries, the studio behind the game, had to make a blog post outlining their motivations for the microtransaction system and explaining why they see it as a good idea.

The game will feature its own virtual currency called REQ Points, which the player will earn from multiplayer matches in Arena or Warzone modes, and with those points, players can purchase REQ Packs which give them weapons, skins, armor and various other types of equipment that can be used in battle.

In addition, leveling up awards a free REQ Pack to the player, giving them a steady sense of progression as their levels are going up. On the other hand – and this is where the controversy comes in – players will also have the option of spending real money on REQ Packs, allowing them to get their gear faster than others.

And considering that the packs will include things like weapons, this has been a very negative point about the whole system. The blog post explaining the system did specifically say that Arena mode will only allow players to buy cosmetic items with the use of REQ Points, but the situation will be different in Warzone.

There, players will actually be able to purchase weapons and other similar items with their Points, but they will be organized in different groups according to the levels of items that can be bought in a game. Additionally, players who have purchased weapons with REQ Points will need an additional resource – energy points – in order to use those weapons in-game, and these can only be earned through actual gameplay performance in matches, either the player’s individual performance or that of their team as a whole. So someone buying weapons will still need to be good at the game to actually use them.