Shadow of War screenshot of the paid Loot Boxes

Microtransactions and randomly generated paid Loot Boxes have become a common sight in MMOs today, and while I have absolutely no love for them I can at least understand why they exist - if the game itself is free, the developers have to earn their bread somehow. But when it comes to purely singleplayer games, singleplayer games that you have to buy at a full AAA price tag, then its less about keeping the game running and more about milking the playerbase for all its worth.

Unfortunately, it is exactly this that the Shadow of War team proudly announced in their most recent "Introducing the Market" blog post. By using premium currency, or vast amounts of rare in-game currency, players will be able to purchase Loot Boxes, boosters, and other such items that help them level up quicker, give them better followers, or just help them customize those they own. As is tradition with these types of systems, everything can be earned through in-game means, but I sure hope you have an excess of free time as you're going to be grinding away for quite a while.

If you think I'm exaggerating and that this is not going to be much of a problem, here's the official answer on how you can gain Mirian (in-game currency) and Gold (paid currency):

Mirian is a form of in-game currency that players earn by playing the game. Along with Gold, Mirian can be used to purchase Loot Chests and War Chests from the Market. Mirian can be acquired by:

Defeating Treasure Orcs

Destroying Gear for Mirian

Destroying Orc followers for Gear (which can be destroyed for Mirian)

Finding Mirian stashes throughout the game

Gold is a form of in-game currency awarded in small amounts at specific milestones and for participating in community challenges. It can also be purchased for real money through the PlayStation Store, Xbox Store and by adding funds to your Steam Wallet. Along with Mirian, Gold can be used to purchase Loot Chests, War Chests and Boosts from the Market.

Now I don't know about you, but this has completely soured my excitement for Shadow of War. Instead of the developers working on fun features everyone can enjoy, they are apparently spending considerable amounts of time planning out how to fleece us instead. If all of this nonsense ensured that all future DLC would be free I would begrudgingly accept it, but its not given that the Season Pass is already being sold pre-release!

Shadow of War is set to arrive on October 10th for PC and consoles, and while its most definitely a foolhardy hope, I really do hope they'll reign in all of the microtransactions in favor of just making the best game they possibly can.