Ubisoft Removes Ghost Recon Skill Point and Booster Microtransactions Following Backlash

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, at least personally, took what I loved about Wildlands and made it even better with a very grey-area military perspective and high-tech atmosphere. That being said, the experience was marred by seemingly predatory microtransactions, as discussed in our full review, by allowing players to buy high-powered weaponry, skill points, and level boosts. The backlash for this particular brand of in-game purchases was immediate, thus leading to Ubisoft to remove them entirely outside of cosmetic choices. 

The odd thing about the backlash, though justified, is that the system in Breakpoint wasn’t really that different than Wildlands. Wildlands offered boosters and skill points for sale, as well as higher-level gear, but Breakpoint was the one that drew game ire. Still, Ubisoft has addressed the concerns and taken the necessary actions needed to make it right with their community. 

The studio took to Reddit to talk about their overall philosophy and where they go from here. According to the reddit post: 

From the beginning, two key factors stood out as extremely important for the team.

1. That Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint doesn’t include any pay-to-win elements.
2. To make sure that players not choosing to engage with in-game purchases do not see their experience affected. Players will be able to unlock skills and get access to plenty of varied loot & items by simply playing the game.

As far as the Time Savers go, they added “We are aware that during the Early Access of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint on October 1st, some Time-Savers items (Skill Point bundles, XP Boosters, parts bundles for advanced weapon upgrades) were available for purchase for a few hours in our Store but this was not our intention and was an error on our behalf.

“These items were designed as an optional way for players arriving later to the game (Post-Launch) to catch up with those who have been playing for longer and enjoy our co-op and challenging end-game experiences. These Time-Savers have since been removed from our Store for now.”

“Time-Savers were not designed to grant any advantage over players choosing not to use them. Additionally, Ghost War PVP has been carefully balanced to ensure that no matter your experience as a player, no one has a critical advantage based on their progression.”

They added that the game will continue to evolve with help from player-feedback as they continue to “grow” with players. As for the game itself, Ghost Recon Breakpoint is available now.