Game of Thrones: Kingsroad launched on Steam with mostly positive reviews. However, numerous negative reviews have emerged, primarily criticizing the game’s microtransactions. Players are facing additional charges even after paying substantial entry fees and can’t transfer items across new characters.
Kingsroad has received praise for its story and open world, yet many fans feel that its monetization makes it resemble a mobile game that has been ported to PC. The game is currently not free-to-play, and some have expressed frustration over its pay-to-win mechanics. To access Kingsroad in early access, players must purchase one of three bundles, ranging from £21.99 for the Standard Pack to £77.99 for the Ultimate Pack.
However, even after these initial purchases, players encounter additional charges within the game.
Monetization backlash from players
The game is expected to be free-to-play once it exits early access.
“The cash shop destroyed the game for me, and I’ll never be able to finish the game because of that paywall,” reads a review from Steam user LeFrenchie. “Sure, you can farm it all in the game but this is futile.”
“As soon as I died and was asked to pay to be revived I quietly exited the game and refunded,” says julbug. “After purchasing the game I still have to pay to fast travel?” agrees Onyma.
“No thank you.”
Additionally, players are frustrated that pre-order items are tied to a single character, not the account, preventing reuse if a new character is created. The game will also be available on mobile when it fully launches later this year, but there are currently no plans for console ports, and no release date has been announced for its full launch. Many fans of the franchise are still waiting for a genuinely satisfying video game adaptation of Westeros, and it remains to be seen how Kingsroad will evolve during its early access period.
Image Credits: Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash
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