When news first broke that Uncharted 4: A Thief's End would feature micro-transactions in its multiplayer mode, not all fans were happy to say the least. However, one game developer thinks the backlash is unwarranted.

Speaking to MCV, former Naughty Dog community strategist Eric Monacelli defended the studio's decision to use micro-transactions.

"If it's good enough content and you want to pay for it, why not pay for it? That's what it comes down to," said Monacelli.

The developer, who has worked at companies such as Capcom and Atari, and now resides with the Call of Duty producer Infinity Ward, acknowledged that the negative reaction was nothing new. He pointed out how "people bristled" when Bethesda sold horse armor for its 2006 title, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Monacelli also disregarded claims that developers cut content from games, just so they can charge money for it at a later date. He used the example of the purchasable burst rifle in Naughty Dog's recent title, The Last of US.

"We did the research and noticed that a lot of players were having trouble jumping into the game for the first time, so we wanted to give people a weapon that was easily accessible and would give them a bit of a leg-up," he explained. 

He said the weapons were a matter of personal preference. An experienced player was absolutely welcome to buy them, but it was far from a necessity. 

Ultimately, Monacelli said micro-transactions were justified because of the work developers put into delivering additional content. 

"For me, the more thought that's put into DLC, the more you should be able to charge for it, because it's one of those things where you're creating another game unto itself," he said, going on to add, "It's work, and you should pay for good work."

On the subject of DLC, Naughty Dog also announced it would be implemented in some form after the release of Uncharted 4. However, according to director of communications Arne Meyer, the development team has "no idea" what they are planning for that at the moment. 

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is set for release on March 18, 2016, exclusively for PlayStation 4.