Microsoft’s shift in strategy sounds like good news for gamers looking to purchase an Xbox One, but one developer believes that the move has repurcussions for the gaming industry. Gears of War creator, Cliff Bleszinski believes that we could see studio closures and more monitization strategies from publishers due to the decisions by Microsoft and Sony to make their consoles more consumer firendly.
Microtransactions are about to skyrocket, says Bleszinski
“More studios will close and you’ll see more PC and mobile games,” Bleszinski cited as a possible outcome of the decisions. Taking it further, Bleszinski believes that the games which do arrive on the Xbox One and PS4 will see a significant rise in microtransactions.
“Brace yourselves. More tacked on multiplayer and DLC are coming. You’re also about to see available microtransactions skyrocket… You’re going to see digital versions of your favorite games with added features and content to lure you to digital over disc based. Do whatever it takes to keep that disc in that tray is the mantra of developer in a disc based world.”
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because Bleszinski’s Gears of War franchise touched all these bases with the release of Gears of War 3. Multiplayer gun skins, map packs, and other devices were used by Epic to “keep that disc in that tray” when Gears 3 launched back in 2011.
Bleszinski’s comments about the Xbox One come on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement to reverse their previous stance on DRM and daily internet checks on the new console. Features that Bleszinski publicly approved to be for the benefit of the industry.
