Sea of Thieves might get microtransactions, but it’ll ‘never’ host loot boxes

Bold strategy, Cotton

Sea of Thieves just enjoyed a boisterous boost on Twitch thanks to its recent beta period and its ability to convey emergent stories on a streaming platform. How it’ll fare once it actually arrives next month is anyone’s guess, but in the meantime I’m enjoying the trickle of information every so often that helps us figure out what the final version will be like.

One big tidbit by way of the game’s design director Mike Chapman — there aren’t going to be any loot boxes. I know we should never say never as many studios have added them in afterward, but Chapman is conceding that although they may put microtransactions in, he’s betting his reputation on not allowing any “form of gambling in Sea of Thieves, of any description.” Pay-to-win items are also supposedly out.

It’s a bold take in a sea (ha) of loot box-laden games, and one I hope they follow up on. Just what these microtransactions actually might entail beyond the basic pet system that’s already confirmed is anyone’s guess (the only descriptor is something that it’ll “bring value to players” and remain cosmetic), but at least it won’t involve gambling for what you want. It’s odd to see Microsoft take an about-face on this when they jammed microtransactions into most of their Xbox One launch games, but here we are in 2018, and they’re forced to evolve and implement a ton of new good policies.

[PC Gamer]