Shareable $50 skin in Once Human leaves it open to RMT frauds

Modified Aug 25, 2024 21:17 IST

RMT in Once Human — Players exploit the territory skin sharing feature in Once Human (Image via Starry Studio)

No one could have predicted that the $50 Territory Material Pack in Once Human would bring the once universally praised, fair, free-to-play game to its knees. However, as players have repeatedly shown, they will exploit any minor oversight by the developer and ultimately ruin the experience for others. This time is no different, as players have managed to turn one of the least pay-to-win games into the very thing it sought to avoid.

The ability to share territory skins with friends is a cool social feature that allows players to acquire rare furniture and housing formulas, enhancing both their own homes and those of their friends. This feature also makes the Glass skin's steep $50 price tag somewhat bearable, as it can be shared with four other friends.

However, when players turn a fun social feature into a profit-driven scheme, it becomes a harmful RMT (Real-Money Trading) exploit.

RMT exploit in Once Human is damaging the game's fairness and leaving players vulnerable to scams

Steel Frame Glass Sunroom is a $50 territory skin in Once Human (Image via Starry Studio)

Trading is a fundamental part of character progression in Once Human. As you level up and explore the world, you can focus on gathering specific resources or mastering particular aspects of gameplay.

Because the game is highly cohesive and interconnected, you will eventually need something that another player has obtained through their efforts, while they may need something you have acquired. This exchange drives character progression and fuels the in-game economy, fostering a healthy social dynamic and encouraging players to explore various facets of the game.

However, the fairness of these transactions hinges on both parties investing time and effort into obtaining the items they trade. This balance can be disrupted by an exploitative cash shop where players buy in-game currencies or items that allow them to bypass the grind. This kind of pay-to-win model devalues the time spent in the game, as money can achieve the same results as time and effort.

Players selling their Glass skin in the World chat in exchange for in-game currency (Image via Starry Studio)

Although Once Human doesn’t have any pay-to-win or pay-for-convenience features in its cash shop, players selling the ability to share their $50 Glass skin with others have indirectly recreated this pay-to-win concept.

While $50 is a hefty price for a skin, the Steel Frame Glass Sunroom skin transforms your mansion into a true dream home, making it highly desirable for many players. So when those with this skin start selling it to others in exchange for virtually anything available in the game, it becomes a way to bypass the entire grind by paying real money. This is effectively RMT and a clear example of pay-to-win.

Moreover, this can easily turn into a scam for those purchasing a shareable slot for this skin from others, as they have to give building permission to the seller, who must then apply the Glass skin to the buyer's base. However, the seller might refuse to apply the skin after receiving payment and permission. They could even destroy the entire base instead.

It's disappointing that the sharing system is being misused to damage the game's economy and disrupt the experience for other players. If the developer, Starry Studio, decides to remove this system to preserve fairness, it would be equally disappointing, as it's a great feature that has regrettably become a tool for this exploitative RMT scam.

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Edited by Arundhoti Palit