Mortal Kombat 11's Microtransactions, Explained

Mortal Kombat 11 developer NetherRealm has clarified its stance on microtransactions and loot boxes in the soon-to-launch fighting game. As was already confirmed, the game does not feature any loot boxes, but like with many other AAA games, Mortal Kombat 11 will feature optional microtransactions that players can use to buy cosmetic items.

In the latest Kombat Kast, producer Shaun Himmerick confirmed that Mortal Kombat 11 will have Time Crystals as its form of virtual currency. Players can spend these Crystals to acquire various cosmetic items such as skins, intros, easy fatalities, and gear, among other things. There is "nothing pay-to-win" with Mortal Kombat 11's microtransactions, Himmerick said. Regarding the gear, Himmerick said NetherRealm learned from Injustice 2--which let you buy gear with stats that impacted gameplay--and it won't repeat that with Mortal Kombat 11. The gear you can buy with real money has no gameplay impact on its own. Players will need to acquire stat augments from gameplay to improve their gearsets.

Nothing in Mortal Kombat 11 requires Time Crystals, Himmerick said. "We don't want to have any competitive advantage for money," he said. Himmerick went on to say that NetherRealm will give players allotments of Time Crystals in the game as a means to give players a look at some of the content they can buy should they decide to spend real money.

NetherRealm has yet to provide any details on specific price points for Mortal Kombat 11's microtransactions, but those details should become available soon as they game's launch is right around the corner.

Regarding loot boxes, Ed Boon already confirmed Mortal Kombat 11 will not have them, and Himmerick offered more details. "There's no loot boxes. We don't want that. We've heard the community doesn't want that. We've seen the reaction to other games that have it. We don't want that reaction. There are no loot boxes in this game whatsoever," he said.

Mortal Kombat 11 launches on April 23 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. You can see all of GameSpot's written and video coverage here.

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