Moonbreaker is removing all monetization and in-game purchases

Unknown Worlds Entertainment have announced big changes are coming to their tabletop battling game Moonbreaker. in a blog post, the developers announced they’re removing all monetization from the game, including its in-game currencies and in-game store, in order to “better reflect our early access goals”. The changes will come into effect today, alongside the Moonbreaker’s first content update, Zax’s Story.

Moonbreaker’s in-game shop and Pulsars – the game’s purchasable currency – have been completely removed and players will be refunded for any Pulsar purchases automatically. The game’s free currency, Blanks and Merits, are being replaced and converted into Sparks, which is a new currency allowing players to increase a Unit’s rarity. The team also confirmed that the rarity system will “remain completely cosmetic in nature.” Booster Boxes are being converted into Sparks, too. Instead, players will automatically unlock every Unit at the start of each season.

As for those who bought the Founder’s Pack (which costs £21/$25), this will remain in players’ Steam libraries, and Unknown Worlds have said they’ll be replacing the Pulsars contained within it with two exclusive skins. However, they’re also offering refunds for it as well, albeit only for a limited time – so if you’d rather have your money back instead of said skins, you’ve got until December 6th to put in a refund request on Steam .

“Early Access is a time for us to experiment and improve the game, and the monetization in its current form was affecting that goal,” they said. There’s currently no mention of whether a monetization system will return to Moonbreaker when it leaves early access. But, players should be happy to learn that they’ll receive “new Seasons, Captains, Maps, Units and more – for free” in future content updates.

In his early access review, Ed said that “Moonbreaker really does seem to capture the tabletop experience in digital form, making for bite-sized turn-based battles that are a lot of fun,” though he also said “it’s just hard to recommend in its early access state.”

Moonbreaker is out now in early access on Steam for £25 / $30, where it’s expected to stay for one to two years, the developers have said. Unknown Worlds clearly have their sights set further into the future for Moonbreaker, though as fantasy author and Moonbreaker writer Brandon Sanderson (yes, that one) has said he wants its story to “last a decade or longer”.