Our James recently headed to Cologne after Edwin stole one too many kills in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. “I'll never look at another video game again!” he declared. Unfortunately for James, he accidentally walked into Gamescom. “I'm starting to think there's a lot of video games,” he informed us yesterday. If true, it's terrifying. Still, he seems to be managing to have some fun there, especially by giving Saber Interactive COO and former id Software co-owner Tim Willits some great tips on getting back at Edwin's thieving ways.
Kill-stealing tips aside, James found time to ask Willits about Space Marine 2's microtransactions and whether there was any tension in returning to a cult hit series… especially one that many people have given up on ever seeing again. “Even the original's 'push-forward' combat [id’s] “When we created Doom 2016, that was our inspiration,” Willits replied. “So for me personally, it's a big circle. It's always scary to work on a franchise that people love.” But with the right team, technology and vision, “it all comes together.”
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Back in April, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch said he felt the $70 game would “die out like the dodo. I think the market will shift to not necessarily lower quality development, but there will be an emphasis on finding ways to reduce costs.” As for whether this means Saber should focus more on monetizing its games in the future, Willits is adamant that Space Marine 2 won't make you feel like you're being “nudged.”
“There are shifts and trends in the industry,” he said when asked about the game's approach to microtransactions. “People don't want to sell horse armor anymore. I can say that because I worked at Bethesda. Our fans never felt like we were ripping them off on World War Z. Focus is great. They let us do what we want.” Space Marine 2's add-on purchases and updates will follow a similar model to World War Z, he said. “You buy a weapon pack. You buy a character pack.”
The actual concrete stuff here is currently a bit muddied by one of those spreadsheet-heavy versions you all know and love. Okay, take a deep breath. The following versions of Space Marine 2 are currently available on Steam:
- £55/€60/$60 “standard edition” (with 'Macragge's Chosen' DLC if you pre-order)
- ‘Gold Edition’ for £80/€90/$90 (Maccy Cheese DLC, 4-day early unlock, season pass)
- An ‘ultra edition’ for £90/€100/$100 (All this, plus the ‘Ultramarines Champions Pack’)
Another deep breath. Maccy Cheese DLC, some cosmetics. “Ultramarines Champions Pack”, some more cosmetics. Season pass “get armor, weapons, and Champion cosmetics from your favorite Space Marine chapters across four tiers”
Additionally, Focus brand manager Sylvain Le Roux recently told PCGamesN that “everything you get [in the passes] “are purely cosmetic. All gameplay additions, whether new missions or new enemies, will be available for free to all players.”
So, not bad at all then. I mean, it's expensive, yes. And I won't even start unlocking it early. But there's no game being held hostage – it's just a matter of letting players decide whether the extra cosmetics are worth the investment. I sympathize with the argument that cosmetics are “the game” in a sense, but that's fine by me. If I'm missing something here though, let me know.
Unless James faints from thirst before he returns, we'll be seeing more Gamescom goodness soon. It seems impossible to find water there that doesn't bubble. I like bubble water, but I still quite liked Crackdown 3. Spice Maureen 2 comes out on September 9, and when the inevitable PVP blood match between James and Edwin begins, it's hard to predict who will emerge victorious.