I’m intrigued by this in-game currency. Whenever I see those strange, fictional currency symbols, a little alarm bell starts ringing and my mind jumps to… “microtransactions!”
Thinking back to games in the early 2000s, such as Codename 47, you would often see real world currencies featured in games. But with the advent of microtransactions, there became a need for fictional in-game currencies. Soon every game invented its own little currency symbol.
Now I’m not suggesting that Freelancer will contain microtransactions. But neither do I think it’s beyond the realm of possibility. At the very least, I think it gives a strong indication of a model we could see in future Hitman titles. Namely, an in-game economy which incentivises “grind” gameplay and offers microtransactions as a means to skip the grind.
Perhaps you think this is outlandish speculation. In which case, I would draw your attention to the job advert on IOI’s website for a ‘Business Performance Manager’, which gives an insight into the future strategy IOI intends to pursue with regard to microtransactions. See my post here for more details.