Marvel's Avengers Is Removing Paid XP Boosts After Player Backlash

Marvel's Avengers will no longer offer paid consumables for real money in its in-game store, following player backlash. The news comes via a statement posted to the game's official Twitter account.

"We apologize for not responding sooner to your concerns about the addition of paid consumables in the Marketplace," the official statement reads. "We introduced them as an option for an evolving player base, and did not see them as pay-to-win since they don't offer power directly."

The paid consumables in question, Hero's Catalysts and Fragment Extractors, allowed players to gain XP faster or earn more of the in-game currency used to upgrade gear. Previously earnable through playing the game, the items were added to the Marvel's Avengers marketplace in exchange for the game's premium currency in early October. They will once again be earnable rewards, and boosts already owned by players will still be usable.

"We hope that this can be the first step in rebuilding your confidence in us as a team," the statement reads.

Fans were not happy with the news to sell boosts largely because it went back on a previous commitment by Square Enix that Marvel's Avenger's marketplace would only sell cosmetic items in exchange for real money. The paid boosts were also added following a previous update which made leveling in the game slower, something done to counter pacing issues which Square Enix said overwhelmed new players by rewarding them with new skill points too quickly.

Marvel Avenger's recently received its free War for Wakanda expansion, which introduced Black Panther as a playable character. Square Enix said in August Spider-Man was on track to be added for PlayStation users before the end of the year, but the character's arrival does not yet have an official release date. Marvel's Avengers was added to Xbox Game Pass in September.