With any new game, there is always the fear that it will be pay to win. This means that players can spend real money to get ahead in-game, which creates a disparity between players who can spend real money versus those who cannot or choose not to.
New World’s creative director David Verfaillie stated in an interview with Eurogamer that “We have definitely heard the feedback from players. Our focus is we do not want this to be a pay to win experience. The emphasis is on cosmetics: that’s all we’ll be doing at launch.” Verfaillie also stated that there is room for quality of life improvements that won’t turn into a pay-to-win model.
Some players may prefer to instead call this pay model a “pay for convenience.” With this kind of model, New World could pose problems for players that are so inconvenient that they will be more tempted to pay real money to progress. Only time will tell how microtransactions will develop in New World, but at least at launch, they will be solely cosmetic.
For more information on New World, check out the New World page on Pro Game Guides.
