Please Deposit 25 Cents

Per this post on the Ingress community forum, new packages, called nano packs, are going to be appearing in the in-game store. The packs will be available for 1200 CMU (a little less than $1), and contain a fairly small amount of gear. Agents will be able to purchase either 25 XMPs, 10 UltraStrikes, or 20 Resonators at their level, up to level 6.

The big change isn’t what’s in the store, though, it’s that Niantic plans to make these packs available not just in the store, but also within the attack or deploy carousel. Many agents are expressing concern that this change to make item purchases more visible in the scanner will change the nature of gameplay, disrupting the flow, and further diminishing the strength of agent communities. Other agents are comparing it to another of Niantic’s titles, Harry Potter:Wizards Unite, which critics consider to be over-monetized and blame that fact for its lackluster uptake.

Niantic Producer Brian Rose has gone on record stating that sustainability is one of his top goals, meaning it’s safe to say agents can expect to see a lot more innovation on the monetization side of the game. Finding that balance where Niantic can make money from Ingress without driving users away from the game is going to be a challenge.