Pay-to-win: "Elite: Dangerous" turns fanbase against itself
Only cosmetic items were supposed to be available in Elite: Dangerous in exchange for real money. But now players can also buy early access to a spaceship. The fans are angry.
An announcement about the space game "Elite: Dangerous" a few days ago sparked a debate among gamers. Many accuse the studio Frontier Development of pay-to-win practices and are disappointed by this development. However, the case is not entirely clear-cut.
In "Elite: Dangerous", you can freely explore the galaxy with different, individualised spaceships and complete missions - with or against other players if you wish.
Early access to a new ship is expensive or time-consuming
The centrepiece of Elite: Dangerous is a new spaceship. You can buy it from 7 August in exchange for credits, the normal in-game currency, if you own the current DLC "Odyssey". What has some players up in arms is the addition, freely translated here from English: "If you don't want to wait that long, you can get three months' early access from 7 May by paying 16,250 Arx."
Arx is the premium currency in the game. Players can buy Arx packages for real money. You can get a package with 16,800 Arx for 11.49 euros. You can also earn Arx through special quests in the game - but only a maximum of 400 per week. To be able to buy the ship with Arx, you would therefore have to work for more than 40 weeks to earn the maximum possible amount of Arx.
The excitement: With money to a free ticket
Here you can follow the discussion in the Elite-Fourm itself. Many gamers are also complaining on Reddit.
Is it even about pay-to-win?
What do you think of the debate? Let me know in the comments!
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.
Show all