Dead Space Remake Won't Have Microtransactions

Reversing course from the controversial inclusion of microtransactions in Dead Space 3, the developers of the upcoming Dead Space remake have no intention of ever adding microtransactions to the game.

Speaking to IGN ahead of the Dead Space trailer reveal, senior producer Phil Ducharme said the EA Motive team developing the remake was learning from some of the franchise’s past missteps and is ensuring the remake won’t look for ways to goose extra money out of players.

Speaking to how the remake is learning from what came after the original Dead Space and finding natural ways to integrate some ideas into the original, Ducharme made it clear they would not be adding microtransactions.

“We're looking at what can be taken and reinjected into the first game from a future standpoint.

We're also learning from mistakes such as microtransactions, which we will not have, for instance, in our game,” Ducharme told IGN, confirming that they are developing it to “never” have microtransactions added to the experience.

This move follows Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which made clear before its launch that the single-player experience would not have any microtransactions.

The developers are, of course, looking for ways the future of the Dead Space franchise after the first game’s release can inspire this remake. Ducharme and Roman Campos Oriola pointed to examples such as the zero gravity sections in Dead Space 2, and using some of the advancements made their to apply to Dead Space 1 in the remake. The team is also looking at ways to integrate narrative touchpoints from later entries naturally into the story of Dead Space one, when perhaps the original devs didn’t have everything as laid out at the time.

“For us, the foundation is the Dead Space 1 story. So, by default, that's what is canon. But then there are some improvements that we want to make to that story,” Campos Oriola said. “And not necessarily improvements because those things were not really working in the origina, more improvements because of what came after, and we're like, ‘Aw man, that's interesting if we could reference that, or if we could make a link to that.”

The team is also keeping in mind the potential for the remake to open a whole new generation of fans to the original Dead Space, but they’re also using the remake as an opportunity to widen the player base via accessibility options not previously present.

“Something that is also really important for us that was not there 12 years ago... is all those options or different ways to play the game if you need it. All those elements of accessibility will definitely be something important for us in terms of opening the Dead Space experience to a broader set of people that didn't necessarily have the opportunity or could play the game when it came out,” he said..

Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior Features Editor and host of Podcast Beyond! Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.