No, Burnout Paradise Remastered Is Not Adding Microtransactions

[thunderball]

With Burnout Paradise Remastered set for a March 16 launch, EA has announced that the popular racing game has been revitalized to look and sound great on modern consoles. But, according to a recent update, one modern flare that will be missing from the game is microtransactions.

When a game gets remastered, it's not uncommon for developers/publishers to plug in new features that maybe weren't as prevalent when the game first launched. Folks got a bit wary following yesterday's announcement that Burnout Paradise Remastered was set to launch in a few weeks, as the game's listing included the phrase "in-game purchases optional." Given the current state of gaming, you'd be forgiven for assuming that meant the upcoming open-world racer would include microtransactions or even, gulp, loot boxes.

 

Based on a tweet from EA's Ben Walke, however, it appears there is no cause for concern.

Just a heads up, but the store listing for Purnout Paradise that mentions 'in-game purchases optional' is an error. There is no MTX or any additional paid-for content. Pitchforks down, please.

MTX is short for "microtransaction," which Walke is now stating will definitely not be a part of the Burnout Paradise Remastered package. Still, it's not hard to understand why folks were so eager to, as Walke phrases it, take up their pitchforks and cry foul.

Over the last several months, microtransactions and loot boxes have been in the spotlight for a number of reasons, almost exclusively negative. The big hubbub started last fall with Star Wars: Battlefront II, which we won't rehash here. Suffice it to say that things got so bad that world governments and lawmakers have since got involved and, by extension, other games with similar practices have come under fire.

Battlefront II is published by EA, which is pegged as being one of the major drivers of this microtransaction culture modern games have slipped into. Since loot boxes and other types of microtransactions are being plugged into just about every game to launch under EA's banner, it stands to reason the company might consider a similar practice with a remaster of Burnout Paradise. The game's announcement states that all DLC is included in the initial package, but that doesn't mean that all of that content wouldn't be unlocked via a progression system driven by loot boxes (that you could buy more of for additional real-world money) in the remaster. There are lots of vehicles to unlock, after all, and it's easy to envision the above scenario if the game was just a standard launch instead of a last-gen remaster.

Despite the fear expressed by the community, however, Walke is saying there's no need to panic. Based on what he's offered, it looks like Burnout Paradise Remastered will be a one-and-done purchase of $40. End of story.