Halo 5: Guardians’ bankroll plan includes microtransactions

Shortly after Microsoft’s E3 press briefing on Monday, more details of Halo 5: Guardians’ pricing was released. There’s a $60 standard price for the game, a limited edition bundle for $100 that includes some digital goodies, and a $250 package that includes a statue you can proudly display in your closet. But what’s this? Buried in the descriptions for the the two most expensive versions is something about “Premium Requisition packs to enhance Spartan combat.” That sounded ominous to some Halo fans, so Microsoft was asked to explain.

343 Industries’ Josh Holmes was quick to post some details of the new Requisition (REQ) System. Playing Halo 5: Guardians’ Arena or Warzone multiplayer modes will result in the award of points that can be redeemed for Requisition Packs. In the player-versus-player Arena mode, these packs will give players cosmetic items like armors, weapon skins, and animations. In the team-based Warzone mode, packs may be used to acquire weapons and vehicles for use during the match. Players will be able to purchase packs for real money “as a matter of convenience” and part of that revenue will be used to fund the Halo 5 esports tournament prizes.

The REQ System is designed to generously reward players with a steady stream of content to keep gameplay fresh. We’ll be continuing to release new REQ content, post launch, so there are always new toys to play with. All REQ content in the game can earned through the regular course of play in multiplayer.

Halo 5: Guardians will launch on October 27th for the Xbox One.