Carbine Studios’ MMO WildStar is facing up to reality that a subscription-based model just doesn’t cut it, and so are switching over to free-to-play this fall. The whole game will be ”open for players to explore for free.”
Cosmetics and boosts will be purchasable with NCoin, but there’s an ‘equivalent item’ that can be earned in-game. Progression remains unchanged and ‘power cannot be bought’, assures the developer.
Subscriptions will remain for those who opt in and there’ll be convenience bonuses to XP, crafting, currency, item drops, reputation as well as additional character, costume, bank, supply and décor items.
”Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of amazing players have shared feedback and logged in to check out WildStar,” said creative director Chad Moore. “Whether you are a current player, or someone who played in the past, as part of this transition we want to make sure that we are recognizing and rewarding you for being an essential part of this great game.”
A new trailer announcing the free-to-play changeover has been released. Carbine will be holding a live stream announcement tomorrow, May 29th @ 10:00 am PDT via Twitch.
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Carbine plans other changes this fall to improve ‘quality of life’:
▪ Streamlining player and item stats to be much more intuitive while adding high-level options to give players more flexibility.
▪ Making the Amp system easier to use by unlocking all Amp slots.
▪ Reviewing dungeons and open world content so that the experience is challenging, but not brutal.
▪ Changing the tutorial and early game experience to provide a better and quicker introduction.
