Middle-earth: Shadow of War Update Removes All Microtransactions

The often-discussed update for Middle-earth: Shadow of War that removes the game’s market and strips it of all microtransactions is now on the horizon with Monolith Productions sharing news of the patch’s release.

A game that’s had monetization controversy hanging over it since it was released, Middle-earth: Shadow of War players’ qualms with the marketplace are no more now that the entire thing’s being removed. Thanking players for their dedication to the game, Michael de Plater from Monolith Productions confirmed that the marketplace is no more in the next update and went over some of the other features that players will find.

“We’ve removed the market, streamlined and improved the post-campaign Epilogue, added new player skins, new Legendary gear including Nazgûl masks so you can really confuse those Orcs and introduced hundreds of fixes and improvements,” de Plater said.

The Steam version of the update is out today with previous announcements saying that it’d be released for everyone on July 17. A free demo of the game is also coming (to PlayStation 4 at least) to give new or returning players a fresh, microtransaction-free look at the new version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

“And if you want to try out Shadow of War before diving into the best version ever of the game, you can play a new demo releasing tomorrow (July 18) in conjunction with the update to experience the dynamic personal stories of the Nemesis System as you conquer your first fortress.”

Though the general idea is that the game’s market has been removed, players might still have some questions about what happens to their purchases and currencies they’ve accumulated. The Steam updates provide more insight into that with he market-specific notes seen below.

Market Removed

• The Market is removed from the game, replaced with an updated Garrison menu that allows access to your Garrison Orcs, Chests, Training Orders and Boosts.
• The Spoils of War Rewards and Community Challenge Reward Chests no longer contain Orcs. Instead, they now focus on Training Orders.
• You can now purchase Training Orders directly with Mirian.
• Captains recruited during Online Vendettas and Ranked Conquests can now be found in your Garrison when you return to your world.
• Captains killed during Online Vendettas and Ranked Conquests now drop gear, the same as Captains killed in your world. You still receive a Gear Chest at the end of the mission, in addition to any gear dropped by Orcs.
• With the removal of the Market, any unspent Gold currency has been converted into Gold Loot Chests.