Microtransactions have been the center of attention and tension in general for quite some time now. The industry is torn between whether or not they are ethical and if they should be considered gambling. In a recent interview with Simon Viklund, one of the nine members of the 10 Chambers Collective, the creators of GTFO, he said that loot boxes are definitely gambling.
Seeing GTFO for the first time, you won’t believe this game is actually made by a team of nine people. 10 Champers Collective is completely set to their project and will support the game long after its release. During the interview with Viklund, we get to find out what they think about next-generation consoles, Google Stadia and, most importantly, microtransactions. When asked about what he thinks about them, the GTFO developer stated that loot boxes are indeed gambling. He moved on by saying:
In my personal opinion, loot boxes are definitely gambling. Even if it’s for a virtual item, consumers still value them like physical items – it’s just legislation that hasn’t caught up with new consumer behavior/mentality. We are determined to keep GTFO free from loot boxes and pay-to-win microtransactions. In fact, we’d like to keep the game free from micro-transactions altogether, but if the sales of the base game aren’t enough to keep the lights on and food on the table, we might add some cosmetic microtransactions that users can purchase to support us.
It’s a hard reality speaking with an indie developer and see how sometimes adding microtransactions is a necessary evil. 10 Chambers Collective does want GTFO to be free of microtransactions but it falls to the players to make it happen. If the game doesn’t create revenue, then the studio will have to create some passively through paid content. Good thing is that they don’t want to add any loot boxes or pay-to-win items in GTFO, so we’re clear on that end.
GTFO is a 4 player hardcore shooter set to release on Steam this year. Consider it something like Killing floor meets Dead Space but with better graphics. Let’s hope it plays as good as it looks right now.
