Players were repeatedly promised that Marvel’s Avengers would never include any “pay to win” microtransactions, but early last month Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics quietly introduced various XP and resource-collecting boosters that could only be bought with real money. Needless to say, players noticed this, and they weren’t particularly pleased. Well, the makers of Avengers are now backtracking, removing the pay-to-win elements from the game…

　　We have decided that by the end of today we will remove Hero’s Catalysts and Fragment Extractors for purchase.#Reassemble #AvengersGame pic.twitter.com/mFNYRFMFiS

　　— Marvel's Avengers (@AvengersHub) November 2, 2021

　　We apologize for now responding sooner to your concerns about the addition of paid consumables in the Marketplace. We introduced them as an option for an evolving player base and did not see them as pay-to-win since then don't offer power directly.

　　After considering your feedback, we have decided that by the end of today, we will remove Hero's Catalysts and Fragment Extractors for purchase. They will continue to be earnable rewards and those already owned are still useable. We hope that this can be the first step in rebuilding your confidence in us as a team. It continues to be our goal to make the very best game possible. Thank you for being a part of the Marvel's Avengers community.

　　This statement doesn’t really address why it took a month to address the widespread anger over the paid consumables. To the outside eye, it sure seems they were waiting to see how many people bought them before pulling them from sale. Wherever the truth lies, rebuilding trust won't be easy at this point, as this isn't the first time Avengers players have been burnt.

　　Marvel’s Avengers is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and Stadia. The game is also currently available via Xbox Game Pass.