id Software has added paid cosmetic downloadable content to DOOM Eternal after previously promising that there will be no microtransactions.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, two cosmetic packs were released last week on all platforms: DOOMicorn Master Collection Cosmetic Pack costing $4.99 and The Series One Cosmetic Pack costing $8.99. The former includes unicorn-themed cosmetics and the latter includes 12 cosmetics that were previously available by gaining a certain amount of XP during the first season.
Prior to DOOM Eternal‘s release, creative director Hugo Martin assuaged players’ concerns on social media by stating that cosmetics will be unlockable via XP. The two packs mentioned above can now only be obtained with real money. Martin’s post dated January 2020 reads:
No store. Nothing you can unlock in Eternal with XP has anything to do with player abilities or content that would impact your game in any way. The only thing you can unlock with XP is COSMETICS. These cosmetics have no impact on how you play, they just look cool. Eternal is a $60 game, not a free to play game or mobile game – we are giving you a complete experience with no store just like you’d expect. Unlocking skins with XP is a part of the experience if you care about that stuff or you can completely ignore it and it will have no impact on your experience AT ALL and it’s all free.
DOOM Eternal released in March 2020 to positive reviews. According to Bethesda, it outperformed 2016’s DOOM with double the launch revenue.
[Source: VGC]