Fan-favorite franchise Doom returned last year with the release of Eternal. The game's release was accompanied by the promise that no microtransactions will be included with the game, but on April 29 two cosmetic packs were seen available for purchase on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation stores.
Another DLC cosmetic pack, the Rip ‘N Tear, was released soon after launch but was not greeted with controversy since the items in the pack were originally only available for pre-order purchases.
This resulted in some shock online. As was stated by Creative Director Hugo Martin in a Facebook comment, “No store, nothing you can unlock in eternal with XP has anything to do with player abilities or content that would impact your game in any way,” as he continues, “Eternal is a $60 game, not a free-to-play game or mobile game – we are giving you a complete experience.”
This comment gave people the expectation that the game would be the only purchase in store for them. With the release of the two cosmetic packs, many gamers expressed their frustration with the frequency of microtransactions in modern titles.
Doom Eternal cosmetic pack items nothing new
While others have treated the news with disdain, others don't see any fault in Bethesda's actions. This is because the items in the cosmetic packs were already available but only through specific channels. The DOOMicorn Master Collection Cosmetic Pack ($4.99), for example, was previously available through the streaming platform Twitch. The Series One Cosmetic Pack ($8.99), meanwhile, was said to be available during the launch event of the game.
The silver lining here is that the packs available offer no ability bonus for players. At least in this sense, what microtransactions exist remain purely cosmetic.
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