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It costs $255 to unlock everything in MultiVersus that can’t be earned by playing

Draugoth

Gold Member
multiversus-variants-2-1024x508.jpg


Players would have to spend at least $250 / £200 to unlock everything in MultiVersus at launch.

As the beta stands, there are two types of currency available: coins, which can be earned through normal gameplay, and Gleamium, which can only be bought with real money.

However, right now a sizeable portion of the game’s cosmetic content can only be bought with Gleamium, and can’t be unlocked through normal play.

Gleamium comes in four packs:
  • 450 for $4.99 / £3.99
  • 1,000 for $9.99 / £7.99
  • 2,200 for $19.99 / £15.99
  • 6,000 for $49.99 / £39.99
At first, only four of the game’s 16 characters are playable (a fifth, Wonder Woman, is unlocked after playing the tutorial). The rest can either be unlocked with coins or by paying 700 Gleamium (at least $10), a total of 7,700 (at least $70) to unlock them all.

This can be detailed in full in our MultiVersus unlockables guide, which breaks down every unlockable and how to acquire it, but a basic summary is as follows:

  • Character skins – 17 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 14,450, at least $125)
  • Ringout VFX animations – 14 in total, 9 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 9,600, at least $85)
  • Taunts – 16 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 5,300, at least $50)
  • Sticker emotes – 5 in total, 2 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 300, at least $5)
  • Banners – 8 in total, 1 is Gleamium-only (total cost is 350, at least $5)
The total cost of all of these is exactly 30,000 Gleamium. However, some skins, ringout VFX, taunts, stickers and banners can only be unlocked through the Premium Battle Pass, which costs 300 (because it’s only a short pre-season one – the first full season arrives in August, with a larger and presumably more expensive Battle Pass).
The full total amount required to obtain every item in the game that can only be acquired with real money, then, is 30,300 Gleamium. The cheapest way to buy this would be five packs of 6,000 Gleamium and a single pack of 450, at a total cost of $254.94 / £203.94. Arguably the most interesting items that can only be purchased with Gleamium are character skins, which take up nearly half the total cost. These include Arya Stark’s ‘Waterdancer’ outfit, Harley Quinn’s traditional ‘Mad Love’ outfit, the golden ‘One Million’ version of Superman and ‘Luau Velma’ wearing a Hawaiian outfit.
 
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Itchy Tickles

Neo Member
It does matter. This crap was in games as part of the package, but then removed and sold back as if the developers were doing extra work.

It's pathetic and people need to stop saying "oh it's just cosmetics" or "doesn't effect gameplay". They are selling purposely removed content because they can exploit people with that mindset, which then makes it worse for everyone else. Yeah yeah, it's been that way for years now but that doesn't mean it's acceptable or can't be changed.

Just charge for a game and stop the "slowly bleed them dry" horseshit. Gaming needs another crash to kill of these scumbag companies and practices.

(I don't care for the game or its genre, but that doesn't matter, it's everywhere)
 

TheSHEEEP

Gold Member
They are selling purposely removed content because they can exploit people with that mindset,
I agree it's scummy.
BUT: If you are being exploited by such an optional thing, you have let yourself be exploited.

People are responsible for their own actions, and that includes idiotically wasting money on MTX.
It's not like you have evil publisher and innocent victim here.
You have evil publisher and stupid fool. BA might pity the fool. I don't.

How it affects "everyone else" really depends on the game. I've seen games where people who don't spend cash are left alone by it completely or almost completely - which is fine.
Then of course there are those games that go in-your-face with their MTX all the time and yes, that does affect gameplay.
 
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jakinov

Member
It does matter. This crap was in games as part of the package, but then removed and sold back as if the developers were doing extra work.

It's pathetic and people need to stop saying "oh it's just cosmetics" or "doesn't effect gameplay". They are selling purposely removed content because they can exploit people with that mindset, which then makes it worse for everyone else. Yeah yeah, it's been that way for years now but that doesn't mean it's acceptable or can't be changed.

Just charge for a game and stop the "slowly bleed them dry" horseshit. Gaming needs another crash to kill of these scumbag companies and practices.

(I don't care for the game or its genre, but that doesn't matter, it's everywhere)
If the base price of a game is not worth it to you then don't buy it. It doesn't matter when content was created. They want to sell you a specific things for $X and other crap for $y. They shouldn't have to arbrtiariarly make crap after the initial release in order to sell the extra crap. You just need to decide if it's worth your money for the base game and if it's worth your money for the other crap.

I would hardly call selling cosmetics in usually free games exploiting. Letting people play your game for free and hoping they like it so much you pay extra for horse costumes. Wow what a scumbag practice by these scumbag companies.

You know why people accept these "scumbag" practices. Because the GaaS model is awesome. You get to play a bunch of fun games for usually free or really cheap and they companies are spending a shit ton of money improving the games over time at no additional cost and they invest a lot of money in new cosmetic content that would otherwise not be created and you get to optionally pick and choose what content you want to pay for. Or even never pay a dime.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
It does matter. This crap was in games as part of the package, but then removed and sold back as if the developers were doing extra work.

It's pathetic and people need to stop saying "oh it's just cosmetics" or "doesn't effect gameplay". They are selling purposely removed content because they can exploit people with that mindset, which then makes it worse for everyone else. Yeah yeah, it's been that way for years now but that doesn't mean it's acceptable or can't be changed.

Just charge for a game and stop the "slowly bleed them dry" horseshit. Gaming needs another crash to kill of these scumbag companies and practices.

(I don't care for the game or its genre, but that doesn't matter, it's everywhere)

It’s a free to play game. Makes no sense comparing it to what used to be on disc in paid games.

They are selling additional content to generate revenue for the game. As long as the base game isn’t exploitative, and the MTX is cosmetic only (doesn’t affect gameplay), I don’t see the issue with this.

The F2P GaaS model has come to stay. As long as the implementation isn’t exploitative, I don’t see the sense in wailing about the days of the PS2 or whatever. It’s not like most games are F2P anyway.
 
Thread title is almost misleading

However, some skins, ringout VFX, taunts, stickers and banners can only be unlocked through the Premium Battle Pass, which costs 300 (because it’s only a short pre-season one – the first full season arrives in August, with a larger and presumably more expensive Battle Pass).

As long as it isn't characters, this is pretty much what League and Overwatch (to a lesser extent with OWL skins) both do.

Also Itchy Tickles Itchy Tickles that battle has long been lost, it's like complaining about Oblivion horse armor or paying for Xbox Live in the current year. MTX has been around for more than a decade. It's as solidified in F2P games as a subscription fee is for streaming services.
 

64bitmodels

Reverse groomer.
It does matter. This crap was in games as part of the package, but then removed and sold back as if the developers were doing extra work.

It's pathetic and people need to stop saying "oh it's just cosmetics" or "doesn't effect gameplay". They are selling purposely removed content because they can exploit people with that mindset, which then makes it worse for everyone else. Yeah yeah, it's been that way for years now but that doesn't mean it's acceptable or can't be changed.

Just charge for a game and stop the "slowly bleed them dry" horseshit. Gaming needs another crash to kill of these scumbag companies and practices.

(I don't care for the game or its genre, but that doesn't matter, it's everywhere)
all of the skins being sold to you at a cost would have just been unlockable content in paid based games. It doesn't affect gameplay, true, but people are going to want to look nice while they're playing a game.
 
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DelireMan7

Member
I see why some complain about this kind of business model but here it's a non issue for me.

It's a Free to play and all characters are unlockable by playing. Only cosmetics stuff are locked behind paywall.
So you have access to everything, gameplay wise, for free. Then if you like the game and want to support it you can buy some cosmetics.

I am not for MTX but this is the best way to implement them for me.
If you would have to pay the game it would be different.
 
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FingerBang

Member
Yeah me too. Even though i’ve never paid a cent for a F2P game in my life but Diablo Immortal really took 1 for the team for this dark part of the industry that $255 seems normal.
Yep, same. I don't tend to like F2P games and have never been into cosmetic stuff, but seeing how crazy expensive games can be and how they try to take advantages of people with addictive personalities, 255 sounds almost too good.
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
  • Character skins – 17 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 14,450, at least $125)
  • Ringout VFX animations – 14 in total, 9 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 9,600, at least $85)
  • Taunts – 16 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 5,300, at least $50)
  • Sticker emotes – 5 in total, 2 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 300, at least $5)
  • Banners – 8 in total, 1 is Gleamium-only (total cost is 350, at least $5)
Do people really buy this shit? Why?
 

Fbh

Member
As far as F2P games go this doesn't seem too bad.
It says there are 17 skins and that they make up almost half of the price, which would make every skin around $7,5. Which seems pretty decent and better than the whale bait prices you get in other games. A decent goal explosion in Rocket League is like $20

  • Character skins – 17 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 14,450, at least $125)
  • Ringout VFX animations – 14 in total, 9 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 9,600, at least $85)
  • Taunts – 16 in total, 13 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 5,300, at least $50)
  • Sticker emotes – 5 in total, 2 are Gleamium-only (total cost is 300, at least $5)
  • Banners – 8 in total, 1 is Gleamium-only (total cost is 350, at least $5)
Do people really buy this shit? Why?

Stuff like skins and alternate costumes are something people have enjoyed in games since way before microtransactions became a thing.
If you play a F2P game a lot and start to "main" a certain character it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that you'd consider getting a skin for it. Back when I played LOL a lot I also got a skin for my favorite character, because it made him look nicer and it turned his acid based attacks into fireworks which was fun. Game have me hundreds of hours of fun for $0, buying a skin wasn't the end of the world.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Bought a few DLC in my time love to see expansions but cosmetics is nothing to get amp’d about.
 

jigglet

Banned
There are GaaS based games that are free to play, supported by paid content.

Then there are single player games where content is removed to try to sell back to you.

It's like people who are angry with the latter want to blame the former. They're two totally separate things.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
In modern age $255 to unlock every unearnable mtx sounds pretty generous to me. Youd think it's be $2,555 or $25,555.
 
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hemo memo

Gold Member
It's free.

It costs $70, minimum, to play The Last of Us for a third time.
You are absolutely right.

The only time I felt a little bad for a F2P game then thankfully woke up from that stupid thought is with Genshin Impact as I’ve played it for a long time as it is seriously a paid title quality at least before the grind hits in but guess what? Me playing the game is enough support.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
There's the silent majority of people that will enjoy the game, play it and maybe buy some cosmetics.

And then there is the loud minority that will scream, cry and make tantrums about it and maybe play it.
There are GaaS based games that are free to play, supported by paid content.

Then there are single player games where content is removed to try to sell back to you.

It's like people who are angry with the latter want to blame the former. They're two totally separate things.

Well said.

I’m actually quite pleased the kids and I can get to play this without me spending a single dollar. I’ll let others do the heavy lifting with the MTX. I’m satisfied with this business model for this genre. I don’t need to buy every hat or sock.
 

MiguelItUp

Member
This is getting ridiculous IMO, it's like people want to complain because they want to own every single possible thing in the game.

This is honestly one of the better F2P models that exist. Majority of the stuff, especially the big things, can be earned without spending anything. The things that are behind paywalls right now are taunts, icons, and similar items.

So is the game itself free? Or is it $70 to buy the game with half of the content inaccessible?
It's F2P, and the content that matters is accessible without paying.

UNLESS, you want to own every sticker, taunt, icon, etc. Which I'm sure at some point they will implement a way to get "Gleamium" without paying anything.

There's the silent majority of people that will enjoy the game, play it and maybe buy some cosmetics.

And then there is the loud minority that will scream, cry and make tantrums about it and maybe play it.
Exactly. I feel like the "loudest" voices are from folks that were never interested in the first place, they just think it's predatory and want to yell about it. F2P may not be everyone's cup of tea, especially how it's monetized. But it IS still a business, and it costs studios money to continue to develop a game, keep it up, etc. You can't blame them for trying to make money in some way. A lot of those people want monetization in games like this that wouldn't be feasible for the studio at all. It's just not possible as long as the game is F2P.
 
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Itchy Tickles

Neo Member
Some people replied to my message and I'd like to clarify.

I hate "free to play", it's a mobile game disease. I said I wished they would stop the "slowly bleed them dry model" and just charge for the game. I didn't say or suggest I wanted a "free" game and that's that.

By saying how it effects everyone else, I also didn't mean in terms of that game or in terms of a player using a different skin or character, I mean't it more in the sense that companies see the money being raked in and then the next time it gets worse.

Companies removed rewards for gameplay like "beat the game in under 3 hours to unlock this" or "beat the boss on hardest difficulty to unlock this skin" etc , they even put betas locked behind pre orders (not all but a lot) . You know betas? Were the companies want and sometimes NEED the public to stress test their servers, test performance etc but they even put that behind a pay wall.

Loot boxes, season passes, online passes, random stuff like "time saver packs" to skip playing the game you bought, adding in MTX or even adverts a month after release to avoid the review window they promised not too, glorified cheats etc are just bad imo.

I appreciate some people like the f2p model and maybe it's a generational thing (in a non patronising way) I am just completely against this.
 
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