Middle-earth: Shadow of War is axing microtransactions

Monolith has announced a series of free updates are in the pipeline for Orc-slaying simulator Middle-earth: Shadow of War, among which will permanently remove microtransactions and loot boxes from the game.

Writing in a post on the game’s official message board, the developer confirmed that, based on player feedback, it will be putting Gold, War Chests and the Market on the chopping block in the coming months. Gold will be first to go on May 8, while the remainder of the microtransactions will be axed on July 17. 

Gold is available to purchase in various denominations to spend on War Chests, which cough up Orc followers for your army. However, Monolith now understands that this feature ‘reduces the immersions in the world and takes away from the challenge of building your personal army and your fortress,’ so they’re going the way of the Dodo.

Any remaining Gold you may have at the time of its removal will be converted into in-game items, added Monolith. 

Elsewhere, the studio confirmed that it will be updating Shadow of War’s campaign, specifically the sequences in which you are fending off attacks from Sauron against your fortress. A new update will augment these sections with ‘new narrative elements’ and streamline the action into a ‘more cohesive experience.’

Additional update are also planned for later in the year, including changes to the Nemesis system, extra skins, skill tree additions, and gear system updates among others. 

‘The entire team here at Monolith appreciates our dedicated fans, and we feel that these improvements will provide all players with the very best Shadow of War gameplay experience,’ said the developer.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War was released on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One last October, with Alice emerging from the depths of Mordor rather impressed with Monolith’s ambitious sequel.