The studio keeps looking at the market and how it shifts, with changes aimed to benefit ”both us and our players.” Wrath of Heroes is their first foray into free-to-play economics.
Warhammer Online remains subscription based with free trial options. Wrath of Heroes lets them ”see what works” in the F2P arena, without compromising their major MMO.
”It’s quite a touchy subject with some people. The free to play model is a growing juggernaut but like any model, it needs to be done right. Wrath of Heroes represents our first foray in this market and gives us an opportunity to see what works and make sure we are prepared for it,” said James Casey in an interview with MMORPG.com.
”That being said, there is still a market for subscription models and I think as freemium games have shown, there will someday be a comfortable overlap between them. We’re continuing to look at the market and see how these changes will benefit both us and our players.” Can subscriptions and free-to-play coexistence in peace?
Sony Online reckons BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic will be the last major MMORPG to use subscriptions as all others will instead adopt the freemium model to survive. Many MMO titles have made the switch and most report a boon in revenue thanks to micro transactions. Do you enjoy free-to-play, or are you wise to its trickery?
