Ryse: Son of Rome microtransactions designed as a convenience, not a "pay to win" scheme

Ryse: Son of Rome will have microtransactions, but that doesn't mean players will be able to "pay to win" nor is there anything nefarious hidden within, according to Crytek.

Speaking with Eurogamer at gamescom, the microtransaction feature was explained as being similar to FIFA Ultimate Team: multiplayer progression is an armor-based and players earn experience and gold when fighting in the arena. Gold is then used to purchase tiered equipment packs or players can sped real currency.

However, players will need to also have a certain level of experience in order to purchase certain packs; thus the reason it's not a "pay to win" scheme.

"We specifically do that so you cannot pay to win," Microsoft producer Justin Robey said. "Microtransactions are merely there as a convenience thing for people. It's completely optional and is not required in any way shape or form for gameplay. All content is accessible without using it - the message is very simple: it's optional and it doesn't give you really any major benefit.

"We put it in for people who like to collect a lot of different things. You're probably going to progress to the next tier before you have everything in the lower tier. They might be like, I don't want to grind for this, so I'm willing to buy the lower tiers if I can. But in terms of what the perk is for buying stuff ahead of time, it's actually really slim. It's literally a convenience thing.

"That's it. That's the only reason it's in there."

Furthermore, Ryse's progression system was designed without microtransactions and the latter only added after focus testing suggested players would like an alternative way to obtain items without grinding for gold.

Ryse: Son of Rome will launch as an Xbox One launch exclusive.