Black Desert Online Players Protest Pay-To-Win Changes

Published: August 7, 2016 9:22 PM /

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Black Desert Online Protest

Black Desert Online developers, Pearl Abyss, announced a big change coming to the Black Desert Online's in-game market that has caused something of a consumer revolt within the game itself. The developers are taking items that were once only available in the Pearl Shop (the games marketplace for exclusive items only available through real money transactions) and placing them into the normal marketplace to be sold for in-game currency. This change doesn't sit well with a sizable portion of the players, so they have taken to the virtual streets to protest the change, complete with in-game picket signs.

Black Desert Online Protest
Protest Images taken from PC Gamer.

Pearl Abyss said that change was made in an effort to let players, who otherwise would not or could not use the Pearl Shop, access the Pearl Shop exclusive content. A statement on the Black Desert Online forums originally stated that "They are open to the community’s feedback and ask you to share your thoughts and concerns about this change." Now, after the protests, the post has been changed ending with "We are open to the community’s feedback and we encourage you to share your thoughts and concerns in a constructive manner on this change." Another change to the post is a new stipulation about how selling Pearl Shop items on the regular marketplace would work, setting a five item limit per week for each player. 

The main concern among players is that this new change will allow those players who spend real money on Pearl Shop items to sell those exclusive items for in-game Silver, arguably the most important form of currency in the game, which would basically translate to those players paying real money for loads of Silver without having to actually play the game to obtain it. Black Desert Online is no stranger to pay-to-win criticisms due to the Pearl Shop, but this new change takes things a bit too far for some players. Some guilds have gone so far as to change their insignia to feature anti-pay-to-win images, and on Reddit some are calling for a total North American server blackout from 8/10 through 8/12.

What are your thoughts on Black Desert Online's new item policies? Is this an example of Pay 2 Win creeping into an established game? Let us know in the comments below!

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Kyle Downey TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Staff Writer looking to keep you both informed and entertained. Favorite games include: Pokemon, Overwatch, Golden Sun, Portal, and Elder Scrolls.