SOE Offers Refunds for H1Z1 After Players Complain About Microtransactions

Sony Online Entertainment is refunding players for H1Z1 after complaints against the game's real money in-game purchases.

Shortly after the game was first announced, SOE president John Smedley said that the free-to-play zombie survival MMO will only include microtransactions that are "fair." Eight months ago, he even specifically said on Reddit that SOE "will NOT be selling Guns, Ammo, Food, Water... i.e. That's kind of the whole game and it would suck in our opinion if we did that."

For this reason, players were upset when they found out you're able to pay real money for airdrops, which contain weapons, tools, and other useful materials.

If you already paid to play H1Z1 but feel that SOE has misled you, the company is now offering refunds, no questions asked.

"If you feel like the airdrops are an issue for you, you may immediately request a refund to bwilcox@soe.sony.com - this offer applies till Monday and it applies only to people that have purchased the game as of 10:30am Pacific today 1/16/2015," Smedley said on Reddit.

He added that it might take a day or two because SOE is handling the refunds, not Steam. If you don't mind getting your refund through your Steam Wallet, to your Steam Account Details, Store Transactions, and click the refund button.

H1Z1's Senior Game Designer Adam Clegg also apologized for misrepresenting airdrops, and said that the team is currently tweaking them in several ways.

SOE launched H1Z1 on Steam Early access earlier this week starting at $20, though Sony stressed that this version does not represent the final edition of the game, which will be free-to-play.

Similar to DayZ, Sony's H1Z1 challenges players to survive in a hostile world, fighting against not only other players, but also environmental factors such as starvation, weather, and animals.