People don’t like microtransactions, with many considering their inclusion in paid-for titles predatory. Alongside the recent announcement of Crash Bandicoot 4, microtransactions may be coming to the game because of a recent Microsoft store listing. Below the button to pre-order the game, the listing states that the game will include “in-app purchases”. Whilst it doesn’t state micro-transactions explicitly, it’s important to remember that Activision controversially added them to Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled after release. In the game, players could buy “Wumpa Coins” to buy skins and other cosmetic upgrades for characters or their karts.
Towards the end of the Crash 4 trailer, it showed us that if players pre-order digitally, they’ll receive unique skins. Overlooked at the time, this does allude to the possible inclusion of paid cosmetics. Whether this comes in the form of a microtransaction system similar to Crash Team Racing is unknown. Activision are infamous for their controversial monetisation methods and rarely take public outrage into account.
Hopefully these are just skins, simply because I personally don’t believe that microtransactions have a place in a platformer that will be appealing to children. I’m holding out hope this isn’t the case, but Activision’s history doesn’t too much to ease concerns.
