Paid XP boosts have been added to Avengers breaking earlier promise, Fans are not happy

Microtransactions for in-game boosts have been added to Marvel's Avengers, contradicting a pre-launch pledge to only sell optional cosmetic content.

According to a recent update to the game's store, XP boosters are now available for purchase as "consumables." These enhancements allow players to accelerate character development in exchange for real-world money.

VGC first reported the addition of the new boost items, which can be used to temporarily increase the amount of XP or resources you receive from completing in-game activities. Giving players the option to purchase temporary in-game boons like these is common in games with microtransactions, so seeing it on its own isn't unusual.

The Avengers game subreddit is flooded with posts criticising the decision and citing numerous instances when promises were made that "pay-to-win" would never be an issue in the game.

Fans are now outraged that this stance has been reversed. "Every game that sells you XP and resource boosters is throttling in-game systems to force you to pay more money to make the game more enjoyable," one Reddit user explained.

"I knew it was coming from the moment they announced the existence of these boosters after they unnecessarily nerfed the XP curve, but it still hit harder than I expected," said another Redditor.

During the game's E3 2019 presentation, senior community manager Meagan Marie stated, "Our promise to the community is that we will not have random loot boxes or pay-to-win scenarios." The audience erupted in applause when he made the statement.

Social media either was not too happy with the new addition. 

The addition, however, contradicts assurances that the game will only ever sell cosmetic content, as stated in this Marvel's Avengers blog post from August 2020, which detailed how gear and cosmetics would work.

As Square Enix mentions on its official website what are cosmetics 

Cosmetic items come in four different varieties:     

The blog post said "We’ve also committed that content purchasable with real money in Marvel’s Avengers will be aesthetic-only additions, which will ensure we can keep the game fresh for years to come. The fight against AIM is only just beginning, there is much more story and many more heroes on the horizon."

One could argue that the boosts aren't technically "content," but it still contradicts the previous developer promises that the game would never feature "pay-to-win scenarios," as VGC points out.

The addition of boosts follows an earlier change in Marvel's Avengers that made levelling up characters require more XP beginning in March, with the developers claiming that the previous progression system "led to pacing issues."

" It's entirely possible that these two changes to the game are unrelated, but it's still a pretty bad move

Otherwise, Square Enix has kept its promise to keep releasing new heroes, skills, and gear for free. This includes the addition of Black Panther in August and the impending arrival of Spider-Man for PS4 and PS5 players later this year.