Roughly a year after its failed launch, Marvel’s Avengers now has XP boosters in its marketplace that can be purchased with real money. Of course, these aren’t permanent but function more as consumables that will increase XP earned while playing for a limited time. There are also resource boosters as well.
While not particularly surprising, especially since it increased the XP required for leveling several months ago, it does go against some major promises made before launch. When the game was first revealed, Crystal Dynamics touted the lack of loot boxes and pay-to-win elements. Studio head Scot Amos even told GamesIndustry.biz that monetization would be through cosmetics with “no gameplay paywalls.”
Of course, this is just the latest in a long line of issues that the game has suffered, whether it’s the lack of compelling updates, removing cosmetics that can be earned in-game (and which has yet to make their return) or locking Marvel Cinematic Universe skins behind microtransactions. Marvel’s Avengers is currently available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. In terms of new content, Spider-Man will finally be coming this Fall/Winter with his own event and cutscenes.