City of Heroes Going Free-to-Play

[Lonesamurai]

City of Heroes Going Free-to-Play

Subscriptions to be optional in City of Heroes: Freedom.

US, June 21, 2011

If it is true that the lifecycle of an MMO is to eventually go free-to-play, then City of Heroes has had one of the longest adolescences in the industry, and is finally, after 7 years as a subscription-based game, progressing into free-to-play adulthood. Perhaps it has been a long time coming. Paragon, the development team behind the superhero-themed MMO has been working on the free-to-play shift for over a year (well before the Going Rogue expansion was released).

Similar to other subscription-to-free-to-play transitions, City of Heroes will come with membership tiers. Free players get access to eight hero archetypes, 105 power sets, 45 of the game's zones, two character slots, and the ability to reach the level cap (though the numbers are subject to change). If, once upon a time, you owned City of Heroes, you'll be counted as a "Returning Player" and will have access to everything the free players get, as well as everything that you had access to when you originally bought the game. Had half a dozen characters? They'll still be there. VIP members get access to pretty much everything, including special Signature Story Arcs (which otherwise have to be bought separately) and will get a stipend of points for the in-game shop.

Like other games, players can forego a membership and buy only what they really want through the in-game cash store. Spending certain amounts or subscribing will give players Reward Points, which can be spent on special perks that are otherwise unattainable.

Despite its age, or perhaps because of it, City of Heroes is poised in a very good position for the free-to-play market. Costume packs, completely optional microtransactions that give players new costume options for their heroes, have been released on a regular basis for a long time, so there will be a lot of optional content already available for players to peruse. The game's age also means that there is a lot of content for new players to get lost in, and better yet, the Mission Architect, a creation tool which allows players to fabricate their own missions and have others play them out, has the potential to provide much, much more. Perhaps there will be a way to monetize player-made missions, and let the best mission designers make money for their hard work. The architect will only be available to VIP members initially, however.

With the switch will come some changes to the game's structure. In particular, Paragon says it recognizes that the tutorial has been overly complex, and bombarded players with blocks of text -- fine for veterans who already know it all, but a massive barrier for newcomers. A brand new tutorial area is coming as a result. Making getting into City of Heroes as easy as possible is a big focus for Paragon, which has also let it to work on streaming content. The initial game download will be a tiny fraction of what it normally is. During character creation (which, according to Paragon, is also being improved) the tutorial area is downloaded in the background, and during the tutorial, the next part of the game is downloaded and installed. There should be minimal wait time from when you start downloading the client to when you're inside Praetoria or Paragon City.

So when is it all rolling out? According to the studio, the big switch-over comes in "Issue 21" which they hope to get out later this year. Will you be giving the free version a try?