Our James recently stormed Cologne after being the victim of one too many thefts by Edwin in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. “I’ll never look at a video game again!” he declared. Unfortunately for James, he accidentally walked straight into Gamescom. “I’m starting to think there are a lot of video games,” he told us yesterday. Horrifying if true. Still, it seems he’s managing to have a good time there, mainly by contacting Tim Willits, COO of Saber Interactive and former co-owner of id Software, for some advice on how to avenge Edwin’s thefts.
Aside from the victim-stealing advice, James found time to ask Willits what he thought of Space Marine 2's microtransactions, and whether he was nervous about returning to a cult series… especially one that many people had almost given up on ever revisiting. “Even the push-forward combat of the original was part of [id’s] “That’s where we found inspiration when we were creating Doom 2016,” Willits replied. “For me personally, it’s a huge circle. It’s always daunting to work on a franchise that people love.” But with the right team, the right technology, and the right vision, he said, “it all comes together.”
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Back in April, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch said he thought the $70 game would “go the way the dodo did. I think the market is going to gravitate toward development that's not necessarily going to be lower quality, but it's going to be focused on finding ways to reduce costs.” Whether that means we should expect a greater focus on monetization in Saber games in the future or not, Willits is adamant that Space Marine 2 won't make you feel “stung.”
“There are changes and trends in the industry,” he said when asked about the game’s approach to microtransactions. “People don’t want to be sold horse armor anymore. I can say that because I worked at Bethesda. Our fans never felt like we copied them in World War Z. Focus is great. They let us do what we want.” Additional purchases and updates for Space Marine 2 will follow a similar model to World War Z, he said. “You buy a weapon pack. You buy a character pack.”
The concrete details here are a bit muddled at the moment by one of those spreadsheet-intensive edition series you all know and love. Okay, take a deep breath. Currently available on Steam are the following editions of Space Marine 2:
- A 'Standard Edition' for £55/€60/$60 (with 'Macragge's Chosen' DLC if you pre-order)
- A “Gold Edition” for £80/€90/$90 (Maccy Cheese DLC, 4-day early unlock, season pass)
- An “Ultra Edition” for £90/€100/$100 (all that, plus the “Ultramarines Champions Pack”)
Another great inspiration. The Maccy Cheese DLC contains cosmetics. The “Ultramarines Champions Pack” contains even more cosmetics. The Season Pass allows you to “receive champion armor, weapons, and cosmetics from your favorite Space Marine Chapters across four phases.”
Additionally, Focus brand manager Sylvain Le Roux recently told PCGamesN that “all you’ll get [in the passes] “It's purely cosmetic. Any additions to the gameplay, whether it's new missions or new enemies, will all be free for all players.”
So, it's not all bad. I mean, expensive, yes. And I won't even start with the early unlock. But there's no gameplay being held hostage – it's just letting players decide whether the extra cosmetics are worth the investment. I'm sensitive to the argument that cosmetics are somehow “gameplay,” but I'm fine with that. Let me know if there's anything I missed here, though.
We'll have more good stuff coming up at Gamescom soon, provided James doesn't pass out from dehydration before he gets back. Apparently, it's impossible to find water that isn't carbonated. I like carbonated water, but I also really enjoyed Crackdown 3. Spice Maureen 2 is coming out on September 9th, and it's anyone's guess who will come out on top when the inevitable James vs. Edwin PVP blood match begins.