Considering the success of Starfinder I can see why they might want to latch on to that to increase sales. But calling it a cash grab is doing them a disservice. That not only implies they don't care about existing customers (they do) & that they don't care about the consequences. I truly...
In the comments section they mention that the campaign guide will be 300 pages & the players book will be 128. At least for the Pathfinder version. There is also mention of a magic book but I can't find any details on it. I wish they had done a better job of letting people know what was going...
I would go with it takes a special procedure to keep some of it's lycanthrope qualities. Just hand wave for an NPC or make the characters spend some time on it & then go with what KosherBacon said.
This is a great idea. Normally I try and encourage back-story via XP and other similar rewards. I am severely tempted to try using this method instead, or maybe in addition.