Inkbound to Remove Microtransactions on Next Major Update

Inkbound is an awesome turn-based tactical roguelike from the developers behind Monster Train, so this is a more than welcome update I am happy to write about! Coming up on their newest major update on October 27th, Inkbound will be removing in-game monetization, meaning all microtransactions in the game will disappear.

For this game, it means any cosmetics in the cosmetic shop will be purchasable with in-game currency, and if you bought any premium currency, you will get 2x the amount of the in-game currency that you purchased. You will also possibly be able to get a cosmetic from defeating guardians. The leveling pass, similar to a battle pass system, will be fully removed and any premium outfits will become a supporter's DLC, while the free cosmetics will go to the shop.

As for this decision, developer Shiny Shoe had this to say:

It’s our goal to create games we can invest into and update beyond release. As developers we enjoy expanding our games over time, combining our creativity with community feedback to add new content and fun.

For that reason, we launched Inkbound with two in-game monetization features to support the ongoing development of the game - the Leveling Pass and the Cosmetic Shop. We tried to make these as generous and straightforward as possible while simultaneously being 100% optional, cosmetic-only, with no impact on gameplay, and with no FOMO.

However, it’s clear that industry and player sentiment is trending against the presence of these features. For that reason we are removing in-game monetization completely. Content from the existing Leveling Passes will be turned into cosmetic-only optional “supporter pack” DLCs sold on Steam. The rest of the cosmetic content will continue to be available in-game and earned via playing.

To anyone reading this who purchased anything in-game - thank you, truly. We hope you’ve enjoyed your time with Inkbound so far and we’ll do our best to release a strong 1.0 sometime next year. Anyone who has made any purchases will receive additional bonus rewards as a part of this transition as a thank you for your support.

The full details for how we will make this transition are described below. If you have any questions or feedback feel free to post them in the comments. We will be reading.

Shiny Shoe - Inkbound Announcement 10/13/23

While I do understand why some developers put in microtransactions, especially in this economy, it is a pleasure seeing a developer who notices this isn't something consumers like to see and make a decision to support their views. I do feel microtransactions are okay, as long as it is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect gameplay, but in the end, it is nice to see.

Inkbound is available now on Steam for $19.99. It is rated Playable for the Steam Deck, and it doesn't have controller support, but the community configuration does work well, and it is playable at 30 FPS.

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