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Cliff Bleszinski Says Free-To-Play Games Are Like Feeding A Baby Asparagus
Yesterday, Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski debuted his new game from Bosskey productions, a 5v5 multiplayer shooter called LawBreakers that hopes to compete with games like Team Fortress and Blizzard's upcoming Overwatch. It was revealed to be a free-to-play title prior to its official announcement, but it doesn't sound like it will be that simple.
During an interview at PAX, we spoke with Bleszinski, and the developer shared his thoughts with us about the free-to-play model. "We're still playing around with the monetization model. We want it to be positive. A lot of core gamers hear free-to-play and it's like feeding a child asparagus. There is a bad reputation to it and I get it."
Bleszinski went on to explain that LawBreakers might not be following the traditional free-to-play model, but didn't go into specifics. "Maybe someday the game will come to consoles. And we're not ready to rule out the idea that maybe if you give us $20 bucks and you can have early access and then when the game launches you get a special pack that other people pay $20 bucks for. How you do free-to-play is unique for each product, and we want do to do it in a good way that makes gamers happy. We're open to unique ideas for how we get this game to market."
When I ask Bleszinski if that meant they would consider moving away from free-to-play and actually charging people for the initial release of the game, he said, "We wouldn't rule it out. Look at Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. What is it? Like $15 bucks or something? Impulse buy. And then when I get those crates. I pay $2.50 for those keys. It's the power of what's in the box."
Don't get your wallet out yet. Bosskey probably won't announce a release – or even a beta – until 2016.
LawBreakers is an intriguing new multiplayer shooter. For a closer look at its character classes, check out the game's first official trailer.
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