Marvel’s Avengers players are turning away from Crystal Dynamics’ superhero title following the addition of XP boosts – despite assurances that no gameplay benefits would be purchasable with real money.
Marvel’s Avengers may have had a rough first year before finding its footing with the recent War for Wakanda expansion, but its player base could be about to shrink after fans took umbrage with a new type of microtransaction being added to the live-service title.
The new XP booster option, used to speed up the leveling process (which had previously been extended in another controversial update), has riled up fans who had previously been assured that all paid items would be cosmetic only.
Marvel’s Avengers fans revolt over XP boosts
The game’s subreddit has been alight with conversation (and memes) regarding the update, with many noting that the XP boosts arrived less than a week after the game was added to Xbox Game Pass.
One post, simply titled “I no longer support this game”, notes that Crystal Dynamics still has plenty to fix within the game itself.
“For the first time since this game launched I no longer want to support it. I’ve spent some serious cash in cosmetics because I love the gameplay and the heroes,” the poster said.
“But this game doesn’t have the luxury to do this when there’s SO MUCH to be fixed. SO MUCH. They have been planning this for some time, using resources that would’ve been better used in other parts of the game, and above all, they’ve been lying to us. I feel like I’ve been scammed in some way.”
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Others have mentioned that the game’s E3 2019 showing directly promised “no pay-to-win scenarios”, but now feel that Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have reneged on that promise.
In an archived post on the Marvel’s Avengers’ site from just weeks before launch, the developer states “we’ve also committed that content purchasable with real money in Marvel’s Avengers will be aesthetic-only additions, which will ensure we can keep the game fresh for years to come.”
For others, it’s the last straw. “Shame on Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix. I was such an advocate for this game too. Now I’m uninstalling,” one commenter wrote.
As noted above, it felt like the game had finally started to find its feet, so it’s a shame to see this change kill much of the game’s momentum. Crystal Dynamics is yet to comment on the inclusion of XP boosters, however, with no official blog post or tweet explaining the rationale for the change.
The game is expected to add Spider-Man as a PlayStation exclusive later this year.
