Atlas Reactor, Trion’s Fast, Turn-Based Multiplayer Game Isn’t Free-To-Play Anymore

Remember when a bunch of games you wanted to play and were willing to pay up front for went free-to-play? Well now the opposite is happening, as the pendulum swings back a bit toward the premium pricing model.

We expected Overwatch was going to be free-to-play. Nope. It’s a premium game. Boss Key’s Lawbreakers began its life as a no-money-down venture. Now you’re going to open your wallet to play. 

Trion World’s Atlas Reactor is the latest to make the shift back from free-to-play to up-front pricing. The game is best described as a fast-paced, turn-based game with simultaneous move planning. There are multiple phases of each turn, with different priorities for available moves. All of this adds up to having to outthink what your opponent will do instead of what they’ve already done. 

In a blog post, Atlas Reactor executive producer Peter Ju says that the company has been trying to figure out how to make the free-to-play model sustainable while offering every playable character free. The answer, it seems, is to dump that approach entirely.

If you already bought a founder’s pack or spent at least $10 of in-game credits, you’re covered. Atlas Reactor is yours for no additional cost.

For those interested in jumping in, there are three different price points that allow you to do that. Right now, the least expensive is $20. That’ll go up to $30 in a little while, and it’ll get you access to the beta immediately and all current and upcoming characters. It also includes items for Trion’s other games (Trove, Defiance, and Rift) as well as some founder status signifiers.

There’s a $60 version that gets you some additional skins and taunts, boosts, and tokens. Finally, a $100 version gets you even more skins, boosts, tokens, and “golden age” character versions.

You can read much more about Atlas Reactor in our coverage from PAX Prime 2015.

[Source: Trion Worlds]

Our Take
I’ve not playing much of Atlas Reactor, but I love simultaneous planning for how it changes how players must approach the competitive landscape. 

I also like seeing developers reassess their games and business models to find the right fit. That approach results in an something that is both sustainable and appropriate for the content and user base.