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Moonbreaker (opens in a new tab), the follow-up project from Subnautica devs Unknown Worlds, received its first content patch today, and it’s a doozy. In response to community feedback, Unknown Worlds has “completely overhauled the business model” of the game to remove all monetization and in-game purchases.
“Based on your continued feedback, we’re making improvements to make Moonbreaker better reflect our Early Access goals,” the patch notes read. (opens in a new tab), before adding that the game will completely disable its in-game store, and that players who purchased Pulsars—the purchasable in-game currency—will have their purchases automatically refunded to their Steam wallets. Whites and Merits, the game’s non-purchasable currencies, are converted into a currency called Sparks, which can be used to upgrade the rarity of your units (which itself is just a cosmetic effect).
Booster boxes, purchasable items that would allow you to unlock more miniatures, are also gone for good. Units will now unlock automatically with the Moonbreaker base game, and units added as part of new seasons will also automatically unlock.
Honestly, even if you’re not against in-game purchases, it looks like the new system will give you a lot less to keep track of. I can’t help but think that a single, easy-to-understand currency is better than a system of three currencies of various applications, regardless of whether you’re shelling out real cash for it.
The Moonbreaker DLC Founder’s Pack (opens in a new tab)—a bundle of skins and currencies you can pick up for real money—isn’t going away, but its Pulsar component is being replaced. Instead of Pulsars, buyers will now get an extra skin for Zax and Slopper, and if that doesn’t satisfy people who have already purchased the Founder’s Pack, Unknown Worlds will provide refunds upon request.
As for why the devs are undertaking such a drastic change to the game? Unknown Worlds says it’s because “Early Access is a time for us to experiment and improve the game”, and, as it stood, “the monetization in its current form has affected that goal”. That’s quite a level of determination: I can’t imagine that wiping your game of basically anything that will generate ongoing income is a decision you make lightly. Here’s hoping it works out well for players and devs both.
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