Middle-earth: Shadow of War PS4 PlayStation 4

Middle-earth: Shadow of War released about six months ago, and was generally a very good game, but those pesky microtransactions wormed their way in, offering needless new ways to gather orcs for your army. Fortunately, developer Monolith Productions has posted a detailed update on the game's website, going over future plans for the title -- including the permanent removal of in-game purchases and loot boxes.

The developer says that the ability to purchase orcs from the Market undermined the Nemesis System, which is there in order to make your relationships with in-game characters more personal and meaningful.

"In order to fully restore the core promise of the Nemesis System, we’ll be permanently removing Gold, War Chests and the Market from Shadow of War. This means the option to purchase Gold with real-world money and the ability to gain Orc Followers from War Chests will be removed."

Any unused Gold will be converted into in-game items, and the ability to purchase the in-game currency will cease on 8th May 2018. Gold, War Chests and the Market will be permanently removed from the game on 17th July.

Monolith also went on to discuss changes to the Shadow Wars part of the campaign. "This portion of the game will be improved with new narrative elements and streamlined for a more cohesive experience. For players who choose to continue with these on-going fortress defense missions, the Endless Siege update released last November will still be available."

Updates to the Nemesis System, skill tree, gear system, and progression are all on the way too, so it seems like Shadow of War may become quite a different game to the one released last year. You can read the full post from Monolith through here.

Are you pleased by these changes? Are you still playing Middle-earth: Shadow of War? Make friends, not enemies, in the comments below.

[source community.wbgames.com]