Dragon’s Dogma 2 inserts baffling launch microtransactions for bizarre items

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has launched and excitement has turned sour as Capcom has inserted microtransactions at launch. 

Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched last night and just as players were readying to get their fantasy boots on for adventure, it appears Capcom threw in a last-minute wrinkle. As the game became available, a slew of bizarre microtransactions were added to stores for various items and currencies in the game. 

The strange thing though is that the things you can buy are quite odd, and even largely pointless as they are not difficult to earn in the game. More than that, there are even discrepancies between the purchases. 

For example, on Steam, you can buy the ‘Art of Metamorphosis’ which allows you to change you and your Pawn’s appearances for $1.99. However, you can buy an ‘Art of Metamorphosis’ in-game for 500 Rift Crystals, which you can buy for $0.99. Or of course, you can just earn one in-game after a couple of hours.

Other strange items are also for sale, such as a one-use Goal Key for getting out of jail, an act you can do easily in-game. There is also the Heartfelt Pendant for $1.99, which is a tool used for romancing NPCs, meaning you can just buy your way into a relationship. 

You can even pay to ease your encumbrance in the game with items like the Explorer’s Camping Kit. This item is described as “Efficient without being unduly weighty”, which suggests it weighs less than other camping kits in the game. Often these will be some of the heaviest items in your inventory, so this seems to be a play to make one of the most annoying systems in the game easier to handle. 

This is all a shame too, as this, along with performance issues, it seems to be overshadowing the release of an excellent game. In fact, why not check out our review where we gave the game a 5/5?