The SF-MMO WildStar will soon start a closed beta in China. Here in the West, the announcement of the switch to a Free2Play model gave the game a boost.
Hundreds of thousands had registered for the beta of Free2Play WildStar in the West within a few hours, explains Product Director Mike Donatelli in an interview with 2p. The interest in the new model is high. The announcement post alone quickly received 500,000 clicks.
Carbine is looking forward to the launch of WildStar in China, even though there is traditionally little market for science fiction MMOs there. Fantasy and Wuxia games dominate in China. However, Carbine is confident about breaking this trend. Donatelli has just read the popular Chinese sci-fi novel “The Three-Body Problem” and is very impressed. He believes that China is ripe for a science MMO.

In addition, exclusive content will be delivered for the Chinese player base. 22 exclusive pets, a panda mount, and panda armor are expected to come. They are also confident because they have what many Chinese MMO players are excited about: Endless game content. And a content finder will be implemented, leading players directly to this content.
The first closed beta will start in August in China – and to reassure players in the West – they have already hinted at bringing the China pets to the West.
@jeremieldridge@Jazzy_Gaming Wait until you guys see them in motion. (And don’t worry, those fellas aren’t just for China.)
— Kristen DeMeza (@TisCaydiem) June 25, 2015
Read more about the transition of WildStar from Pay2Play to a Free2Play model in the West here: WildStar becomes Free2Play
And in this article, we discuss how WildStar wants to change: WildStar: Everything will change – values, housing, instances, the story, and the payment model