business-models
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Pantheon removes its web store
If you were waiting to grab something from the website store for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, you are now officially too late. A forum post this week states that after internal developer discussion, the devs made the decision to remove the store in prep for a redesign of the interface and a re-evaluation of the various items up for sale. Any orders already placed via the store will still be honored, so you don't need to worry if you had purchased something just before the shutdown. The post also makes note that if the store is brought back, no items with any sort of statistics or concrete advantages will be sold there, although there are no hard and fast decisions about when or whether it will be brought back. Of course, it's probably a little early to be worrying about that anyhow, but points for thinking ahead.
The Elder Scrolls Online answers player questions on its buy-to-play model
Even if you were among the many players predicting a business model shift for The Elder Scrolls Online, a change in business models can be kind of disturbing. Suddenly the game doesn't behave according to all of the same rules you've been familiar with since launch. To help alleviate that confusion, the ESO dev team hosted a quick question-and-answer session with players over the weekend to help answer some of the major questions about the change, the next major patch, and balance issues moving forward in the game. To start with, if you've still got time cards for the game on your desk, fret not; you can still use them after the model transition to add the equivalent amount of subscription time to your account. You might want to use them ahead of time, though, since there are plans to add in a special veteran reward for players who stayed subscribed during the game's entire subscription lifespan. DLC prices are not finalized, but they are intended to be around the normal DLC price points for other games. Take a look through the whole of the answers for more details on balancing and issues like controller support.
Make My MMO: January 18 - 24, 2015
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Star Citizen's release window made headlines, as did the new VAT tax that's about to hit Euro fans of the space sim opus. We also heard from TUG and Shroud of the Avatar, while Pantheon hosted a dev roundtable and promised a public vision. Click past the cut for our weekly crowdfunding news roundup.
Make My MMO: January 11 - 17, 2015
This week was relatively tame as far as crowdfunded MMOs go, though we did see a new entry in the Kickstarter sweepstakes as Maestros of the Anthymn officially launched its campaign. The tile seeks to raise some $200,000 CAD to fund a game where you can "literally mold the world around you, solve puzzles, and conquer impossible enemies through creating and wielding music itself." And someone said there's no innovation in MMOs these days! Click past the cut for the rest of our crowdfunding roundup.
World of Warcraft dispels free-to-play 'Veteran Edition' rumors
Pretty much anything in the world will start the World of Warcraft free-to-play rumors these days, but this set of rumors had a bit of basis in reality, at least. Datamining uncovered references to a "Veteran Edition" for players, which prompted speculation that it would be a preferred account status for players who were on the free side but still had played in the past. It turns out that's not quite accurate, but it's also not entirely wrong: Veteran Edition will allow players to play for free, essentially, with Starter Edition restrictions. Community Manager Bashiok addressed the rumors, explaining that while someone who never had played the game before could jump in with Starter Edition restrictions, veteran players could not. Veteran Edition, then, places almost all of the same restrictions on players, but it will allow you to roll up a new character and play through level 20 or at least log in to chat with friends. No word on exactly when this will be rolled out, but it should put the free-to-play rumors to bed until they start again in a month.
Make My MMO: January 4 - 10, 2015
This week was a busy one in MMO crowdfunding land. Divergence Online released its first new build in over a year while music-focused Anthymn rebranded itself as Maestros of the Anthym and insisted that it's still going to be an MMO. We also said hello to new Kickstarters for Isles of Eventide -- which lets you play as an animal -- and Identity, an open world MMO set in the modern era. More MMO crowdfunding news awaits you beyond the break.
Rumor: The Elder Scrolls Online console version may be close
Let's just start with the disclaimers, for those who have forgotten: Online retailers do not necessarily know the date of releases any more than you do. They just enter a future date for preorders and go. Amazon's release date for the console launch of The Elder Scrolls Online is still December 31st, 2015, which isn't a prediction so much as a way of keeping it in the system for this year. But Microsoft's listing of the game for Xbox One on February 24th, 2015, does merit at least a little attention. Sure, it could just be a placeholder date, but it's awfully soon for a placeholder when the store could easily list December. It would also make a certain amount of sense, since the console version was originally slated for last month after its initial delay. So what do you think, readers? Is The Elder Scrolls Online just around the corner for console owners? Or is it just another placeholder date? While you're munching on that rumor, you can also speculate about the fact that Australian EB Games stores are recalling all boxed copies of the game and all time cards, supposedly as part of a normal post-holiday stock recall. Or as a prelude to free-to-play. You decide. [Thanks to squidgod2000 for the tip!]
Make My MMO: December 28, 2014 - January 3, 2015
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, pretty much everyone took a vacation. Including Frontier, which now finds itself with something of a mess after its Elite: Dangerous server went whacko and screwed over the sci-fi title's economy. In happier news, Project Gorgon got the green light from Steam's community, and Pathfinder's early enrollment period got underway at long last. Click past the cut for the rest of our weekly roundup to make sure you don't miss a beat.
Make My MMO: December 14 - 20, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Elite: Dangerous launched. Let's hold here for a brief round of applause. Moving on, Camelot Unchained's Mark Jacobs talked up developmental transparency, and his PvP sandbox closed in on $3 million in total funding. Last but not least, Massively interviewed Shroud of the Avatar gurus Richard Garriott and Starr Long. Click past the cut for more of our weekly crowdfunding roundup.
Make My MMO: December 7 - 13, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Shards Online pretty much stole the show. Sure, Star Citizen and Elite: Dangerous made some noise like they always do, but the player-driven sandbox world-builder from Citadel Studios not only polished off a successful Kickstarter campaign but also started getting a bit of pub outside the usual MMO blogging circles. Click past the cut for the rest of this week's crowdfunding roundup.
Make My MMO: November 30 - December 6, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Shards Online talked up its permadeath plans as well as how it intends to balance crafting vs. loot. TUG's devs revealed that they're hoping for an investor, while Star Citizen continued to make a lot of money and a lot of commenter rage. Finally, Pantheon previewed a dungeon with a single screenshot and continued taking donations via Patreon. The rest of this week's MMO crowdfunding news roundup is after the break.
Make My MMO: November 23 - 29, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, I played some Elite: Dangerous! OK, no one cares, but Elite: Dangerous did make headlines with its Gamma launch. Fellow space sim Star Citizen topped $63 million and more importantly, it dropped the curtain on its avatar damage and death mechanics. A post-apoc title called SKIES and a sci-fi something or other called Descendants got their Kickstarters going, while Valiance Online cancelled its funding drive. Click past the cut for the rest of this week's news roundup.
Make My MMO: November 16 - 22, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, a lot of people got mad at Elite: Dangerous. Developers of the sci-fi sandbox subsequently started offering refunds to customers who felt duped by the company's decision to excise a previously mentioned offline mode. Elsewhere, Shards Online met its Kickstarter goal, while Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen started taking donations via Patreon. You can see what else happened in the crowdfunding sphere by click through to our roundup.
Superdata CEO: F2P audience has 'reached its limits'
SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen spoke yesterday at the GameON: Finance conference in Toronto. He posited that the F2P monetization model is declining in popularity. "So I think what's really happening is on the one hand you have the free-to-play audience, and I think that's reached its limits, to some degree," van Dreunen said. "And then there's the premium audience saying, 'Yes, I want to buy a game. I don't want to deal with the ads and in-game items. I want premium.' While in the mobile market, three-quarters of stuff is built with free-to-play as its dominant monetization model, you see somewhat of a backlash." He cited Apple's recent decision to remove the word "free" from F2P App Store titles, and he also mentioned Warlords of Draenor's success as an indicator of healthy demand for paid titles.
Make My MMO: November 9 - November 15, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Shards Online returned to Kickstarter seeking $50,000 and a coat of polish for its player-driven multiverse sandbox. Citadel Studios developers also visited the Massively comment section to answer questions about the upcoming title, which is well over halfway to its goal with 27 days remaining. Elsewhere, Star Citizen continued to roll around in piles of money, while Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen stirred from its slumber to offer up some early development screenshots. Click past the cut for the rest of this week's MMO crowdfunding news.
Make My MMO: November 2 - November 8, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Star Citizen topped $60 million. I'm just going to let that marinate for a moment. OK. The Repopulation lowered its alpha access and pledging prices while also detailing some of the tweaks the dev team accomplished in October. Das Tal got Steam's Greenlight, and Ascent: The Space Game squeaked by its funding goal in the eleventh hour. The rest of this week's MMO crowdfunding roundup is just past the break.
Make My MMO: October 26 - November 1, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, Valiance Online launched its Kickstarter and Camelot Unchained got the band back together for an audio stretch goal and a look at the Tuatha De Danann. Star Citizen reached a significant milestone when it added ESP to the latest version of Arena Commander. No, that's no extra-sensory perception but instead Enhanced Stick Precision, which brings the game's level of control and space-simmy feeling closer to creator Chris Roberts' original intention. The rest of this week's crowdfunding news roundup is just past the cut.
Camelot Unchained devs play music, talk audio stretch goal
If you've ever wanted to see Mark Jacobs fend off a wasp attack, the latest Camelot Unchained dev diary video is for you! It's also noteworthy because Jacobs details how the crowdfunded PvP sandbox met its previous stretch goal and how it is now on to a "sound and effects" stretch goal. "This is a very serious attempt to have triple-A sound and effects," he says, before going on to explain how CityState will hire a dedicated engineer, license a top engine, etc. Click past the cut to watch Jacobs, a wasp, Grumpy Cat, and the CU dev band.
Make My MMO: October 19 - 25, 2014
This week in MMO crowdfunding news, not much happened. Oh sure, Seldon Crisis is now Sudden Crisis thanks to that pesky Asimov intellectual property thing. And Funcom got a little publicity for Age of Conan thanks to a Kickstarter cross-promotion for a new Conan-flavored boardgame from Ares. Other than that, though, it was pretty quiet on the crowdfunding front. That said, you can still peruse our weekly roundup after the cut to get the latest updates on Pathfinder, The Repopulation, Camelot Unchained, and more.
League of Legends poised to generate $1 billion in annual revenue
Few things mystify me more than League of Legends. I just don't get MOBAs in general and Riot's juggernaut in particular. Judging by a new report from SuperData Research, though, I'm fairly alone in that assessment as the title is poised to break the $1 billion annual revenue barrier. According to SuperData, LoL generated $946 million via in-game spending between January and September of 2014 and, get this, it makes more money than World of Tanks, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and Hearthstone combined.
