NetherRealm Studios has added some microtransactions into their latest release, Mortal Kombat X.
The previously announced easy fatality option is featured as one of these microtransactions, with listings on Xbox and Sony selling the fatalities in two packs, a five pack for $0.99, and a 30 pack for $4.99. The fatalities in these packs are a one-time use, instead of a one time purchase, meaning once your pack of fatalities is depleted, you need to unlock more, or repurchase them.
NetherRealm community specialist Tyler Lansdown discussed the inclusion of easy fatalities back in March. "Now, we've learned through years and years of study that there are a lot of people who just can't pull off Fatalities, or they get freaked out or they can't figure out the timing," Lansdown said. "So when the game launches, you'll have a couple of those--maybe three of them--day one. You'll have those just to use and do easy Fatalities on."
It should be noted that you can earn easy fatalities by playing the game, making the microtransactions optional. "There are certain places you can unlock those and things like that," Lansdown said. "So you'll always have access to easy Fatalities--if you want to use them."
Mortal Kombat X also features the return of the Krypt, the interactive area where players can unlock items and extras for the game. Another major addition is a $20 unlock to all Krypt items right off the bat. Much like the easy fatalities, it is entirely optional for players to purchase these extras.
It was previously unannounced how the easy fatalities would be implemented in Mortal Kombat X, although the addition of an optional pay structure is not surprising.
Mortal Kombat X is also experiencing issues with the PC release of the game. At this time, there are reports of the title failing to load properly through Steam, in particular when attempting to access the game menus, the game crashes back to the desktop.
The reason for these crashes is believed to be how Mortal Kombat X was divided on Steam. The game was divided in 23 separate packages, leading to a change in the content downloads; instead of downloading in full, only a portion of the game is downloaded initially, roughly 3GB of data. The rest of the game needs to be manually downloaded through those "DLC" packages, a download that doesn't automatically start.
Simply put, you can launch the base game, but the other parts of the title are tucked away in these packages, despite Warner Bros. Interactive promising the title would be playable during these downloads.
It is unconfirmed what the issue is for the PC version of Mortal Kombat X, but thus far, both Steam and Warner Bros. Interactive have not commented on the situation.
So what do you think about all of this? Is the PC version going to be fixed? What about the easy fatalities and the Krypt? Leave your comments below.
