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Fable Legends Is Free-To-Play, Borrows League Of Legends Model
Update: Lionhead has shared some information on its own site about what players can expect. In addition to being able to purchase heroes, you'll be able to buy customization options.
You'll earn silver for playing, but gold can be purchased with real money. These currencies can be spent on heroes and customization items (some only with gold). Villains will be able to purchase new creatures and traps with silver or gold.
Original Story:
Lionhead Studios has confirmed that Fable Legends, its upcoming take on the 4-vs-1 approach, won’t cost you anything to start playing. The title will be free-to-play rather than a retail or premium digital game.
Speaking with Kotaku UK, Lionhead creative director David Eckleberry confirmed the business model. Fable Legends will borrow from the MOBA model of rotating heroes.
Four will be available at any one time, and if you choose to keep playing after they are off the free roster, you can pay. When those characters to rotate back in, you keep your experience and equipment you’ve earned for them. “We’re taking on a lot of risk,” Eckleberry told Kotaku UK “I accept that and so does Microsoft, but there’s no risk for you, as a player."
The title will launch with a number of missions, with expansions planned. Lionhead says that there won’t be traditional free-to-play paywalls or recharging energy. Whether there will be an in-game currency that can be earned to unlock characters (like League of Legends offers) has not yet been revealed.
The title still has an amorphous 2015 release date, as Lionhead plans to grow the ongoing closed beta (which is under NDA). It was announced at a recent Windows 10 event that the title will allow cross-platform play for Xbox One and PC users. For more, check out our preview from E3 2014.
[Source: Kotaku UK]
Our Take
I’m not the least bit surprised that Fable Legends is going free-to-play. Unfortunately, it does mean the title won’t have the splash of a major retail outing.
I’m interested to see how Microsoft builds to the game’s release. Will it treat Fable Legends like a full-priced title or leave it to wither like Project Spark.
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