We aren’t talking about the World Of Warships players: we see people leaving on the other end of the spectrum.

MassivelyOp reports that several World of Warships content creators has left the game’s official community contributor program due to their concerns over the monetization. It blew up from a single in-game item whose acquisition methods were changed without any announcements.

The game, developed by Lesta Studio, offers the USS Missouri battleship. It was initially advertised as directly purchasable with in-game currency. However, it was then turned to be exclusive to World of Warships’ loot box mechanic. (It might be the publisher Wargaming’s fault. You may know them via other games, such as World of Tanks or World of Warplanes.) This unexpected move was the catalyst.

Several content creators and contributors, such as Little White Mouse, Paul “MightyJingles” Charlton, streamer Flambass and others quit the game in protest, all being unhappy with how the game is slowly bending further into predatory monetization. Charlton published a statement on Twitter, saying that playing the game has become toxic in the last few years; pointing out “the increasingly aggressive monetization and implementation of gambling mechanics into a game marketed to children as young as the age of seven…”

Wargaming responded to the departures via its official forums: “We understand that there are several causes that have led us to this situation and that we have upset and disappointed many of our [community contributors] and players,” the post said, not mentioning the loot boxes at all. They will address a few issues, noting that an alternative way to purchase the USS Missouri will be added eventually.

That response feels quite tone-deaf. World of Warships is available on several platforms (PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series).

Source: Gamesindustry