Xbox Marketplace, PlayStation Store listings reveal microtransactions in Assassin's Creed III

With the release of Assassin’s Creed III a couple of days away, it has been discovered through product listings on the Xbox Live Marketplace and the PlayStation Store that the game is set to have microtransactions for the multiplayer. According to Eurogamer, bundles of a currency, known as Erudito Credits, are available to buy in various amounts. These Credits are different from the currency of the single player game, which uses pounds, as the game is set in colonial America.

"Buying this pack will grant you Erudito Credits in-game, allowing you to acquire some game items, disregarding your current level," according to the Xbox Live Marketplace listing.

The system seems very similar to that in place in the multiplayer for Mass Effect 3, which had ‘booster packs’ that you could buy with either money earned in-game by taking part in missions, or by buying with real-world money, which you can then use to outfit your character with extra weapons and abilities.

The multiplayer seems set to have microtransactions

While the listing is only available to some, the US PlayStation Store has the product listings in bundles of 20, 50, 155, 380 and 925 Credit amounts.

Earlier this month, Ubisoft had released a trailer for Assassin's Creed III that explained some of the game modes in the multiplayer for the game. The game will include many game modes for the multiplayer, ranging from the typical deathmatch, to the more team-oriented domination, where you and your team have to capture and hold certain areas on the map. Another new addition to the multiplayer is a co-op mode where you and your partner have to find and kill targets before time runs out.

Assassin’s Creed III is all set to have some new gameplay mechanics to help the protagonist with better travel environments. Players can use parkour to travel through trees, whereas the new combat system allows the capability to dual-wield weapons. The game also shows off the new Anvil engine that allows for a large number of characters to be on screen.

The Assassin’s Creed series deals with a secret war that has lasted millennia between the Assassins and the Templars. The Assassins seek to fight for the free will of people, while the Templars seek to control them. The first game was set during the Holy Crusades in Jerusalem. Protagonist Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad would have to jump from rooftops and sneak into groups of people in order to find and assassinate his targets.

The second game was set during the Renaissance era in Florence. The main protagonist of the II series of games – Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations – is Ezio Auditore. The II series of games dealt with the evolution of Ezio as a character, who starts out as a revenge-driven teenager only to become a highly-skilled master of Assassin. Altaïr also makes an appearance in Revelation, showing the aged assassin’s last few days. The secondary protagonist of the series is Desmond Miles, who is accessing his 'genetic memory' to live the lives of his Ancestors Altaïr and Ezio so he can get some of their skills through something referred to as the 'bleeding effect'. This will help Desmond stand up to the Templars in the present time and stop their plans for world domination.