The unusual genre mix Atlas Reactor will not rely on a “premium” payment model.
Trion Worlds is actually a specialist in Free2Play MMOs. Rift, ArcheAge, Defiance, and Trove have all either launched as Free2Play or switched to the free model relatively quickly.
The new game “Atlas Reactor” will be released as a paid title. A price of about $30 has been considered. This will likely be the price in Euros as well.
In a statement, the CEO of Trion Worlds, Scott Hartsman, laughingly reveals that they were even a bit surprised by the decision themselves. They had assumed that this title would also be Free2Play. But during the testing phase, they noticed that players were more interested in bundles and packs in the cash shop rather than individual microtransactions. The players also feared that they would have to unlock additional heroes through grinding.
As a reason for the decision, Trion Worlds states that competitive games with a strong focus on planning and tactics do not lend themselves to a Free2Play model as well as games with larger random elements and a slow progression system like Hearthstone.
This also follows a new trend: With Overwatch and Battleborn , two “Free2Play” candidates are also opting for a Buy2Play payment model.
You can get an impression of Atlas Reactor in our “Gameplay” article:
