The Free2Play MMO Warframe is also responsible for the crisis of major FPS franchises.
We recently reported on the rise of Warframe. Three and a half years after its release, Space Ninjas reached peak numbers on Steam. In the wake of the “The War Within” update, the self-proclaimed underdog is thriving and on top.
Warframe: Viral PR and Content Patches instead of Advertising
Meridith Braun, a spokesperson for Warframe, gave an interview with GameIndustry, discussing the unexpected success of the title. Warframe believes that delivering good work is more effective than running a bunch of empty ads. Nothing beats “word of mouth” advertising. Players quickly realized that Warframe is a passion project. The last desperate attempt of a small studio to make something big.
Out of necessity, they made a virtue, not investing in marketing – there was no money for that. Instead, Warframe tried to generate viral attention for the game: through live streaming, social media, Reddit, and PR.
Later, they found that it was more beneficial to release real updates and improvements, to engage openly with the community, rather than to invest money in acquiring new players. Many free-to-play games spend a large part of their budget on that, according to Braun.
New players would have come to Warframe through “word of mouth” advertising as news spread that Warframe keeps getting better over time. Once they had more money, they could also focus on classic acquisition strategies.
Free2Play Wave of Top Games like Paladins, Paragon, Warframe
When asked about the “shooter crisis” of titles like Call of Duty, Titanfall 2, or Watch Dogs 2, the spokesperson for Warframe says: She believes that the F2P wave of top titles like Paragon, Paladins or even Warframe itself contributes to the fact that major shooter franchises are not as sought-after as they used to be.
They disrupt the classic “retail” model of these major titles.
The new free-to-play games are filling the long gaps between major releases and are now getting more attention and recognition. High-quality free-to-play titles are steadily on the rise. They are taking their share of the “gaming market” pie.
[pullquote]The continued rise of AAA-quality, free-to-play games coming to market – and their ability to fill the long gaps between large IP releases – is taking a bite out of the big game market.[/pullquote]
Competing with “free” is difficult when free-to-play games are as high-quality as major productions. It is in the nature of free-to-play games to continuously improve through updates and new content. They are designed to be lighter and more flexible, allowing for quicker responses to market needs.
Free2Play Games – Not everything that glitters is gold
Mein MMO says: The success story of Warframe is remarkable. Of course, they are tooting their own horn here and singing the praises of “free-to-play” games. Reading this, one wonders why anyone would buy a game at all. It’s not that simple. Free-to-play games have exhausted a lot of goodwill from players due to inflated price expectations for items in their cash shops, tricks, and broken promises in the past.
If you spend hours in a game and then realize you have to pay a lot to continue or keep up, that can drive away many customers. Many players fear this experience when they venture into a new “free-to-play” game.
How nice it is to see some real top titles now entering the market and also rebuilding the burned trust with “fair” payment systems. Because only this way can long-term success stories like Warframe happen at all.
The shooter crisis in autumn 2016 has many causes – shooter MMOs like Destiny or The Division are also said to be responsible:
Analyst: Destiny and The Division harm CoD, Titanfall 2, and Watch Dogs 2
