The Buy to Play model is rarely encountered despite its popularity, especially in the world of online role-playing games, where regular updates over many years are very important. However, it is much more popular among players.
The privilege is clear: once the desired game is purchased, there is no need to worry about monthly fees or too much influence from the shop – essentially the classic business model of the gaming industry. In this sense, it combines elements of both Free to Play and Pay to Play varieties and can be seen as a middle ground.
As already indicated, there is also a reason why only a few companies in this industry can rely on such a model. An MMO depends on regular or large revenues at the beginning to continue providing improvements. The risk of suddenly running out of funds cannot be neglected. For this reason, it is observed that almost only a top title, ideally a sequel, where the predecessor was already very popular, can realize this undertaking. Good examples here are the high-profile online role-playing games Guild Wars 2 and The Secret World. Since March 2014, The Elder Scrolls Online has also joined this list (background on this step).
To have a shop, even if it is only cosmetic in nature, is probably unavoidable here – but of course not to the extent known from free-to-play games. Finally, DLCs, meaning paid content, such as additional maps or missions, are also making their way into MMOs.
Similar to pay-to-play games, the entry into the game here is unfortunately not quite as barrier-free. Unlike free-to-play titles, the product usually has to be purchased first before one can log into the game. However, there are also opportunities here to sneak a peek, as free trial days or similar promotions are a regular occurrence in such games.
