10 Triple-A Video Game Paywalls That Came Out Of Nowhere

£25 for FAST TRAVEL??

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
Sega

Paywalling isn't exactly a new gaming trend at this point - for years publishers have been carving features out of games and selling them to players separately in the pursuit of making some extra dough.

It's a practise just about every player hates, and yet, it's the voting with your wallet that really matters.

While paywalls are just expected in the modern gaming sphere, they can still have a tendency to bamboozle players totally out of nowhere, when they just seem so wildly unexpected in the moment.

And that's especially true of these AAA titles, each of which asked players to open their wallets once more to access a feature they probably thought they unlocked when they bought the game itself.

From iconic fighting game characters to the most basic quality-of-life features and even online multiplayer, these games all had the cheek to charge an uplift for something that should've been a standard, "free" feature at launch.

It speaks to an industry that's desperately trying to maximise profit at any cost, even if it means throwing shade at the very people who keep these franchises afloat in the first place...

10. Eddy Gordo - Tekken 8

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth
Namco

Though Eddy Gordo is something of a polarising fighter among the die-hard Tekken fandom due to how casual-friendly he is, that's also precisely why he's so popular with less-skilled players.

His balletic, capoeira-inspired fighting style is a joy to watch and, if we're being honest, hilariously easy to pull off with rampant button mashing.

Love him or hate him, Eddy has been staple of the franchise since his introduction in Tekken 3 more than 25 (!) years ago, so many eyebrows were raised when Namco made the decision to nudge Eddy out of the main roster for Tekken 8 and instead relegate him to DLC duty.

Taking one of the series' most recognisable and casual-skewing characters and making them a paid extra swiftly soured many fans.

By charging $7.99 to purchase Eddy separately, Namco were accused of greedily nickel-and-diming loyal fans for every last drop, and it was tough to argue with that assessment.

 
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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.