Dragon's Dogma 2 pulls controversial microtransactions and deluxe edition ahead of Dark Arisen

Capcom is pulling the Dragon's Dogma 2 Deluxe Edition and the vast majority of its microtransactions on 25th June, ahead of the Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen expansion launching on 9th October.

Eleven items are going: the Deluxe Edition itself, the Portcrystal, Wakestone, Art of Metamorphosis character editor, Makeshift Gaol Key, Ambivalent Rift Incense, Heartfelt Pendant, Harpysnare Smoke Beacons, the A Boon for Adventurers – New Journey Pack, and three Rift Crystal bundles (500, 1500, and 2500). These were the items that drew the most heat at launch — most of them let players skip or shortcut the game's core progression systems. Anyone who already owns them can still use them. The base game, Explorer's Camping Kit, and Dragon's Dogma Music and Sound Collection stay on sale.

Capcom cited "the development of additional content and various adjustments for the upcoming title update" as the reason for the removals. Dark Arisen — announced as a surprise during last week's Nintendo Direct — is also coming to Nintendo Switch 2, and Capcom has published a two-part roadmap to overhaul the game before that October launch. The roadmap addresses long-standing complaints: over a year passed since launch without any patches for performance issues or New Game Plus enemy scaling.

The microtransaction cleanup is a notable reversal for a game that launched to significant backlash over pay-to-win convenience items. Whether the community sees it as a genuine course correction or just housekeeping before a paid re-release will likely depend on what the title update actually delivers.