Steam developer completely removes all microtransactions after realising everyone hates them

Indie developer, Shiny Shoe, has made a statement to remove all microtransactions from their game, Inkbound, because most players hate them.

Within a statement posted to Steam, the developer said that the decision was made after seeing that "industry and player sentiment is trending against the presence of these features."

Is this something we'll see more Steam developers implement?

Shiny Shoe have said that it has strived to be "as generous and straightforward as possible" but it will make the move to strip the game of monetisation by 27 October 2023.

This comes as no surprise as most monetisation options feel pushed onto players and usually only consist of cosmetic items. The developer noted, "we launched Inkbound with two in-game monetisation features to support the ongoing development of the game." It's a scheme many developers opt for as it gives them extra budget, but also shows how devoted the fanbase can be.

They continued expanding on their decision by saying "we are removing in-gmae monetisation completely. Content from the existing Leveling Passes will be turned into cosmetic-only optional 'supporter pack' DLC."

For any players who may be angered by this choice, given that they may have already spent cash to support the game, the devs have said these players will receive "additional bonus rewards" when the game releases into their 1.0 update.

It seems the players were initially suspicious, wondering if there was "a catch", while most were praising the decision. There are plenty of hearts being given out and positive comments on the original Steam post. One player congratulated Shiny Shoe saying the move is "a huge win for the developers" while another says it's a "very good move".

So far the post has over 50 pages of comments with most of them being encouragements from the community cheering from the sidelines. The last line here should be from a fan who said "This game just went from great to amazing."