10 Multiplayer Video Games RUINED By Microtransactions
Who knew gambling with friends could be so disappointing?
What's worse than buying microtransactions? Other people buying microtransactions.
There are few things more frustrating in recent games than being beaten in a multiplayer match by someone using an unreasonably priced rocket launcher. The sheer, grating knowledge that you could have flattened them in a fair fight is enough to make most players switch off for good.
That, or introduce the controller to the nearest wall.
Whether it's special skins being locked behind a vicious paywall, introducing "time savers" and level skips, or even breaking the in-world economy with premium priced pay-to-win features, these games will stop at nothing to get their greedy, rat-like claws on your cash.
Unfortunately, that greed comes at the cost of quality.
The games on this list went from an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon to digital disasters, with enough controversy to give even the most silver-tongued PR Executive nightmares. If an entertaining experience is sought after, then look elsewhere, these games stand as a lesson in why monetising everything at the cost of gameplay isn't exactly the best idea.
10. Metal Gear Survive
There is a universe in which Metal Gear Survive is a good game. This is probably the same universe in which the Resident Evil films are critical darlings and Tom Hanks is reviled the world over. Fortunately, this is not that universe.
Whilst the game always faced an uphill struggle, coming after the less than amicable departure of Hideo Kojima from Konami, it was not inevitable that the game should be dead on arrival. The groundwork was there from Metal Gear Solid V. With the right team, Konami could have earned back fans' goodwill with a bold new formula and steady improvements.
They didn't do any of that.
The one design philosophy Konami did go with was: "slap a price tag on it." Everything in this game is blighted Microtransactions. Want to level up? Pay for an experience boost. Want more of the in-game currency? Cough it up.
They even charged for individual loadout slots. Seriously.
What makes these "Survival Coins" even more egregious is that it ruined one of the most seminal franchises in history, devolving Kojima's iconic series from a genuine masterwork to a bland cash-grab, obsessed with shaking down the player.
Konami, do better, or better yet, just stop.