Stellar Blade Won't Have Microtransactions, Says Dev
Stellar Blade, the stylish character-action game with the drippiest protagonist in recent memory, launches as a PlayStation 5 exclusive on April 26. Ahead of its imminent release, developer Shift Up has spilt some tea on what to expect from updates after the game comes out, which’ll include more outfits for Eve and a New Game Plus mode for more replayability. The team also said that those pesky microtransactions you see everywhere else won’t make an appearance here. Phew.
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In a recent interview with South Korean gaming community Ruliweb (via Push Square), studio CEO Kim Hyeong-tae explained that microtransactions aren’t part of the game’s design. What you see when you buy Stellar Blade off the PlayStation store for $70 is what you get. (There is an $80 Digital Deluxe edition that comes with some extra goodies.) That doesn’t mean other DLC won’t happen in the future, such as a potential paid expansion that Hyeong-tae hasn’t ruled out just yet. However, outside of possible partnerships with other IPs, there are no additional purchases here.
“The release of DLC has not been determined, but free updates such as additional costumes are being prepared,” Hyeong-tae said (as translated by Google). “We would like to make it clear here that Stellar Blade does not require any additional expenses that gamers are not aware of other than the cost of purchasing the package.” He did cite the possible exception of costumes for protagonist Eve that are collaborations with other IPs, noting that, if they do happen, they may be sold for a fee.
This is great news, especially since many games these days tend to include some form of microtransactions. Dragon’s Dogma 2, which does have some semblance of connection between players but is largely a single-player experience, has them. Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8, two very approachable and very excellent fighting games, have them. Hell, even Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, a pure single-player game through and through, has microtransactions. They’re popping up everywhere, it seems, though Shift Up isn’t the only developer to publicly declare that they’re foregoing them, either. Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red also recently said that they “do not see a place for microtransactions in the case of single-player games.”
Kotaku has reached out to Shift Up for comment.
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Of course, this could all change once the game comes out, but if what Kim Hyeong-tae says is true, then we can rest easy knowing that Stellar Blade won’t feature additional purchases. I’ll be honest, though, if there are even more sickening fits for Eve worth the sticker price and that fall outside the promised free offerings, then I might have to hand my wallet over. Sorry about it.
