In an era where game companies are shifting towards live service games, which are online games that are free to play and focus on making money from in-game microtransactions, there are companies that have not found success with this approach and are “swimming against the current” by transforming their games back to traditional offline games.
One such game is called Wayfinder, developed by the studio Airship Syndicate, known for their work on Darksiders Genesis for THQ Nordic. They have announced that they will be changing their game from a live service model back to a one-time payment model of $24.99, where players will have access to everything. The game will transition to Early Access on Steam, and when it fully releases at the end of the year, the price will increase according to standard practices.
The changes will take effect on June 11, 2024, with the development team releasing the Echoes Update, which will eliminate all in-game purchases. Items that were previously only available for purchase can now be obtained through normal gameplay, making it easier to acquire items and unlock new characters.
Ryan Stefanelli, the president of Airship Syndicate, stated that they have noticed a shift in the gaming industry, with players becoming more accepting of paying for full games if it helps reduce the time and money spent on in-game items. The development team believes that this change in direction for the game will make it more enjoyable for players.
Source: Airship Syndicate, Kotaku
TLDR: Airship Syndicate is changing their game Wayfinder from a live service model to a one-time payment model, offering players access to everything for $24.99 and making in-game items easier to obtain through regular gameplay.
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