PUBG Likely Adding Microtransactions, but Only for Cosmetics.

So, loot boxes. They’re a problem.

And now every game that employs them is finding themselves in a position where they have to defend their use of them. Some get off the hook because they’re free-to-play. Others, like PlayerUnknown’s BattleGrounds, have quite the hefty entrance fee, and still employ these pseudo-gambling systems in order to entice players to keep playing and increase the rarity of certain highly-valued cosmetics.

On the plus side, there’s no way to buy these purely cosmetic crates, so it can’t really feed into someone’s addictive spending habits, only their addictive gaming habits. On the down side, that’s probably going to change sometime soon. Which is probably why somebody asked PUBG Corp. CEO and lead game designer Changhan Kim about the future of loot boxes in the game at a developer Q&A at Korea’s G-Star Global Game Exhibition.

His answer was… an answer.

"As you may already know, we will never add anything that affects the gameplay. However, there is a relatively strong demand for cosmetic items. Since the official launch is our top priority, we plan on adding new items after that."

There’s a damn good reason for the lack of gameplay-affecting items: even dropping with something as simple as a pan or a bandage in your inventory would give you a massive advantage over your fellow players, especially dropping into some of the more popular, high-density locations. I’d even argue cosmetics are actually less important in PUBG than in most games because 1) You can loot cosmetic items from the ground if they’re really that important to you, 2) you can also loot cosmetic items from your foes, so just because you start the match with an ultra-neo fire decal trench coat doesn’t mean you’ll be ending with it, and 3) If you’re playing in first-person mode (the only way to play) you barely see yourself anyway.

While I hesitate to give PUBG a “pass,” I would say it is one of the less outrageous examples we’ve seen as of late… but still, my eyes are peeled.