Since free-to-play has moved into more mainstream channels from its roots in Eastern titles and the mobile landscape, there’s been a rapid adoption and implementation on more traditional platforms, from PC to console. While the medium and methodology has been changed significantly from the models that birthed the monetization trend, the big players in the industry are latching onto free-to-play, bringing it into play to compete with older subscription models and even using it to bring specific genres into the spotlight.
While these genres aren’t new at all, the right free-to-play model to bring them to life wasn’t fully vetted – or accepted by consumers – until recently. 2014 looks like it’s going to be a firecracker for free-to-play and all that goes with it. Right now, that’s three to four specialized areas, but things are moving fast. The first to market within each free-to-play genre is at a considerable advantage.
The MMORPG: The genre shaped by the subscription as far back as MUDs and text-based adventuring lives on, and it’s ready for a shakeup. While the genre continually chases inclusivity and accessibility with new titles and older survivors continually adapting to the shifting needs of players, there’s probably room to try something new here in 2014.
Realistically, that’s not going to happen as MMORPGS take years upon years of development and money before the smallest details emerge, but there’s room for the highly competitive MMORPG world to try some new things within the space.
Subscription and free-to-play models currently co-exist, with free-to-play looking like a seductive way to compete or inevitability, depending on perspective. Expect to see more sub models turn to free-to-play as a solution in 2014, as well as testing new services and products with users as the model seeks to find realms of general acceptability across the wide spectrum it’s currently toying with.
The MOBA/ARTS: Lending themselves to free-to-play by offering users customization, convenience, or extravagant ways of expression, these character oriented games have more or less moved into the territory once dominated by the RTS. With many of the big players looking to grab a slice of the pie baked by titles like League of Legends and Dota 2, companies are trying all sorts of things from more FPS-style fare to incredibly fast sessions, even attempting to carve out space for the genre on mobile devices.
The Digital Card Game: It was boom time in 2013 for the DCG. It’s a genre that’s more or less always been around, but didn’t have much backing or interest from huge players until now. With free-to-play in the mix, the DCG genre is going to experience a massive boom as some developers and publishers push out their own titles into a sea once completely dominated by physical TCG titan Wizards of the Coast and Magic: The Gathering.
The free-to-play monetization model has created serious opportunities for this genre to thrive – expect many hits and many misses in 2014 and the years to come as various DCGs move into the market as both stand-alone and integrated offerings.
