Interactive streaming series Silent Hill: Ascension isn’t off to a great start if backlash over its microtransactions is anything to go by. The series premiered on Halloween and is free to stream, but it is riddled with microtransactions that players say soil the experience.
What’s going on with Silent Hill: Ascension microtransactions?
First, there’s a $20 Founders Pack that includes a Season Pass of sorts, access to all puzzles, cosmetics, and emotes. Then, there are “Influence Points” (IP) that players pay real money for and use to influence decisions. Viewers can earn IP by doing things like logging in daily, but that only nets a small amount. Players are concerned that folks who spend a good chunk of money on IP will sway the on-screen decisions.
Developer Genvid disputes this, however. “The Influence Point packs are intentionally small to prevent any individual user from overwhelming decisions,” CEO Jacob Navok said in a statement to IGN. “Instead, IP packs are focused on cosmetic unlocks and collections that are completely voluntary and unrelated to the narrative control.” Navok also published a series of tweets clarifying the confusion surrounding microtransactions.
Konami has not commented on the controversy.
Earlier today, Sony announced that weekly compilations of Silent Hill: Ascension will be available exclusively to PS5 and PS4 players 24 hours ahead of other platforms via Sony Pictures Core.
