5th Cell’s third-person shooter Hybrid will have a bountiful list of unlockables, including helmets, weapons, and specializations, all of which can be earned through natural progression. Those who want to get these rewards early will be able to through the game’s micro-transactions. In-game credits can be bought with real money, which can then be used to purchase unlockables. XP boosters, available in increments of 3 days or 7 days, can be bought to speed up player progression. Can’t wait until level 20 to unlock your Minecraft helmet? Just buy it early!

Although micro-transactions are included, it seems there will be no content that must be purchased to unlock. Creative Director Jeremiah Slaczka estimates one could unlock everything in about 10 hours of normal gameplay. The process of unlocking everything will not be a grind-fest, to prevent the game from being “consumer-hostile”. So why include the option to pay? A while back 5th Cell discussed with Microsoft the possibility of making Hybrid free-to-play, so micro-transactions were built into the game as part of that business model. The option to pay was left in as an experiment to test the market. Hybrid will be available August 8 for 1200MSP.

Source: The Verge