The German development team Sandbox Interactive has announced the transition of Albion Online to a free-to-play model. The MMORPG will then be free to play.
When will Albion Online be free-to-play? On April 10 at 12:00 PM our time, the switch in the payment system is scheduled to take place. From then on, all players who want to play Albion Online will be able to access the servers for free.
The game client for the game is available on the official website and needs to be downloaded. Alternatively, the game can also be played via Steam.
What changes with the transition? To currently play the MMORPG Albion Online, you must purchase one of the starter kits. These include access to the game, gold, a premium account for a limited time, and special items.
These starter packages previously cost between 30 and 100 Euros. They are currently reduced by 34%. However, they will be completely removed with the transition to free-to-play.
Those who purchased such a package in advance will additionally receive:
- A mount skin
- Gold
- and premium currency.
This also applies to all veterans of Albion.
Otherwise, there are no changes to the game system. All free-to-play players will receive full access, and the premium system will remain in place.
New Patch brings randomized dungeons and a new tutorial
Together with the announcement of the payment system switch, Sandbox Interactive today released the Oberon update. This brought among other things the new dungeons.
What are randomized dungeons? This type of dungeon is designed to provide players with variety. Entrances appear randomly in the open world and are not shown on the map.
When entered, they are supposed to be randomly generated. The strength of the enemies depends on the area you are in. In safe zones, the dungeons should also be doable in small groups. In the Outlands, however, only in larger groups.
The rewards are supposed to depend on the difficulty of the dungeons. Each visit should, according to the developers, be worthwhile. Completing a dungeon should take between 15 and 40 minutes.
What else did the patch bring? The Oberon update also brought reworking of the tutorial and the quality of the game:
- A brand new tutorial for a better start for free-to-play players
- Improvements in crafting and transmutation times
- New settings for graphic options
- Improvements to client performance
- Protection against spam in chat
- Some balance changes
The trailer for the Oberon patch
Mood is good, player numbers mixed
How has it been for Albion recently? The Nimue update from November 21, 2018 was very well received by the players. The innovations in GvG and several other changes have also pushed player numbers up.
In the Steam charts, the MMORPG saw an increase in November and also in January and February of this year. At peak times, about 560 players played Albion Online via Steam simultaneously.
Sandbox Interactive published the latest FAQ with their player numbers. Between 9,500 and nearly 11,500 players log in daily.
Currently, 35 people are working on the development of Albion. However, they would like to expand the team if the game allows it. Originally, more than 50 people worked on the game. In early 2018 many of them were laid off.
Roadmap gives players hope: A general roadmap for the game has also been published in the forum. The goal of the upcoming updates is to revise the Outland map and to gather players for PvP.
Additionally, further changes to faction wars and guild fights are planned.
What is Albion Online?
Albion Online is a sandbox MMORPG set in a medieval setting. The focus of the game is on the economy and on PvP. There are also some interesting features for character customization and player housing.
More about the structure of the game and an initial assessment can be found in our review from August 2017:
