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Free-to-Play or F2P games have a complex position within the video game industry in that they act as a different face to the traditional market. Recently, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford assured fans that “Borderlands 3” will not have any of the business models featured by these kinds of titles. He literally said that they were “not doing any of that free-to-play junk.”
Rising in popularity in the early 2000s, titles that cost no money to play initially and make a profit off of microtransactions instead have encompassed a huge part of the video game industry. The biggest game in the world right now is “Fortnite Battle Royale” and it is F2P. It would seem that fans were worried enough about “Borderlands 3” and microtransactions that it required clarification, Ars Technica reports.
In a nutshell, “Borderlands 3” will stick with the formula that its predecessor brought to the table where the only in-game economy worth noting are the DLC and the skins. Pitchford also wrote on a thread to provide more details about what he meant.
"Our post-launch plans are in flux, but I made a commitment that Borderlands 3 would not pursue F2P style monetization," the post reads.
Chris Brock, producer for “Borderlands 3” also got in on the action to offer more context with regards to the F2P and microtransaction comments. It would seem that the whole confusing mess with regards to the statements is just a matter of semantics.
"When we say 'no microtransactions,' what we're really trying to say is that we're not trying to nickel and dime people," Brock explained in a recent interview. "We'll probably make content after launch that we will sell, but we also don't intend to take what Borderlands was and then chop it up into chunks and sell it."
For now, it would seem that this particular situation just stems from overenthusiastic marketing for “Borderlands 3.” If Gearbox executives are not careful, their antics might just turn some prospective customers off from their game.
