Crystal Dynamics has announced that it will be removing Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors from the Marvel’s Avengers in-game marketplace. The game’s official Twitter account laid out the reasoning.
“We apologize for not responding sooner to your concerns about the addition of paid consumables in the Marketplace,” said the statement. “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 Hero Catalysts and Fragment Extractors were consumable items that boosted XP for characters and speed up the usual grind in the game. The items can still be earned as normal gameplay rewards and those already earned will still be usable.
We have decided that by the end of today we will remove Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors for purchase. pic.twitter.com/8am9nSstP2
— Marvel’s Avengers (@PlayAvengers) November 2, 2021
Marvel’s Avengers was added to Xbox Game Pass on September 30 for console, cloud, and PC. This news was received favorably given its potential to attract new players, but the mood quickly soured. The decision to include these consumables into the in-game marketplace last month was met with backlash.
Fans noted that the game’s website said any content that was purchasable in the game with real-world money would be limited to cosmetics only. Fans thought that the inclusion of purchasable XP boosts directly contradicted the statement.
As for the future of Marvel’s Avengers, fans can look forward to the PlayStation exclusive Spider-Man DLC, which will have its own story and cutscenes.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey