Marvel’s Avengers Angers Fans by Adding Paid XP Boosts

Marvel’s Avengers has been trying to win over fans lately with things like the free War For Wakanda expansion and appearing on Xbox Game Pass. However, the game has now added paid XP boosts, and many fans feel angered and betrayed by this decision.

The XP boost comes in the form of Consumables you can now buy in the marketplace. As developer Crystal Dynamics noted on their blog, “We added a Consumable category in the Marketplace where you can purchase Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors. You can purchase a consumable with a one-day duration for 100 Credits, a three-day duration for 250 Credits, or seven-day duration for 500 Credits.”

Why do fans feel so betrayed? Simply put, publisher Square Enix promised this wouldn’t happen. A year ago, the official Marvel’s Avengers website claimed, “We’ve also committed that content purchasable with real money in Marvel’s Avengers will be aesthetic-only additions, which will ensure we can keep the game fresh for years to come.”

For many gamers, this is an important dividing line. It’s one thing to allow players to spend money on things like new skins. It’s another thing entirely to offer shortcuts to leveling up, which some gamers consider a “pay to win” option. Paired with the annoying decision last March to slow the XP grind of Marvel’s Avengers, it looks like the developers have been preparing to milk players with these XP boosts for the better part of a year.

While most fans are understandably angry at this change, some rationalize that XP boosts are a common feature in many other major titles, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Others think that this may be the first step towards making Marvel’s Avengers a free-to-play game with Consumables and other store items as a way to continue generating money from the game.

Regardless of the reasoning behind this decision, the timing couldn’t be worse. Some fans are now worried about the overall quality of the upcoming Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy title from Eidos-Montréal that launches Oct. 26. And longtime fans of Marvel’s Avengers may end up leaving the game for good before Spider-Man makes his much-delayed appearance in the game later this year.