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[coughlanio]

I was just thinking about this, and with the relatively recent popularity of free-to-play games, I can't think of a single free-to-play game that doesn't have some form of play behind a paywall.

Do you think it would be possible for a AAA game to be truly free-to-play? By this I mean, 100% of the current and future content will be freely accessible to the consumer.

I could potentially see it be possible with the likes of advertising and product placement, but I don't know if this would generate enough revenue to make the game a success.

EDIT: Just recalled this: http://www.gamershell.com/news_41339.html, so it seems it has been attempted before, just post-launch.

 

[Dance Inferno]

Isn't Dota 2 basically a AAA F2P game? The only thing you pay for are cosmetic items.

 

[The Cowboy]

DOTA 2 is this IMO, the only things behind a paywall are cosmetic.

 

[Zareth]

I think Dota 2 already fits into the F2P AAA title even though its a bit of a niche genre.

 

[LastNac]

Hope not, I don't want to be nickle and dimmed.

 

[KKRT00]

What do You mean by 'form of play behind paywall'?

 

[Xater]

DOTA2

 

[Usobuko]

Isn't Dota 2 basically a AAA F2P game? The only thing you pay for are cosmetic items.

/thread.

Also, no ads and product placements.

 

[benny_a]

Dota 2.

Or a different way: BF4 becomes so fucking grindy with its progression bullshit that F2P games look tame by comparison. EA already allowed you in the past to unlock progression by paying in a retail title.

 

[Bedameister]

I fear we might

 

[TechnicPuppet]

What does AAA even mean, is it only budget?

 

[Zoracka]

Games that have no in-game purchases, all content is/will be free and game's only source of income is commercials? I highly doubt that is ever going to happen.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Dota 2.

Or a different way: BF4 becomes so fucking grindy with its progression bullshit that F2P games look tame by comparison. EA already allowed you in the past to unlock progression by paying in a retail title.

But the battlefield games are free-to-play games, just with a game download microtransaction of $60.

 

[coughlanio]

What do You mean by 'form of play behind paywall'?

Game modes, Items (cosmetic or otherwise).

I mean zero cost to experience 100% of the game, including cosmetic items.

 

[Raw64life]

I sure hope not. Needs to die ASAP.

 

[Bomber Bob]

DODA2 if you like MOBAs

 

[patapuf]

In terms of cost i'm sure there are a few F2P MMO's/Multiplayer games.

The question is F2P also works for SP, which it really doesn't beyond small scale stuff that can be financed by ads imo.

I think Dota 2 already fits into the F2P AAA title even though its a bit of a niche genre.

It's really not

Edit: oh, you mean pay for nothing? I doubt there's a publisher that puts 30 million into something with no return of Investment.

 

[Orayn]

I was just thinking about this, and with the relatively recent popularity of free-to-play games, I can't think of a single free-to-play game that doesn't have some form of play behind a paywall.

Dota 2 has no game content locked behind a paywall. Granted, it's multiplayer-only and a painstakingly faithful remake of a popular mod, but the production values and support for the game are quite high. It's no less "AAA" than Titanfall.

Do you think it would be possible for a AAA game to be truly free-to-play? By this I mean, 100% of the current and future content will be freely accessible to the consumer.

Entirely possible, yes. It'll have to be done by people who aren't limited (ironically) by the "unlimited growth, monetize EVERYTHING" mentality of big publishers, but there's no reason it can't be done. Dota 2 and Path of Exile have demonstrated that cosmetic-only microtransactions and a really good game are enough to make bank.

Game modes, Items (cosmetic or otherwise).

I mean zero cost to experience 100% of the game, including cosmetic items.

What would you monetize, then? There's got be be something.

Also, Dota 2's cosmetics aren't strictly locked behind a paywall because you gain items naturally for playing and you can trade them with other players to get whatever you want.

 

[coughlanio]

What does AAA even mean, is it only budget?

AAA in the sense of budget and scope.

 

[ultron87]

How would this hypothetical game make money? I don't think an ad supported model would really work to justify the cost.

 

[Pai Pai Master]

This is definitely Dota2. It's not just one of the best and most well-produced F2P games ever, it's just amazing in general.

 

[coughlanio]

What would you monetize, then? There's got be be something.

Advertisements and product placement.

I seem to remember the original Far Cry was made free with ingame advertising.

 

[Blearth]

I want everybody to copy DotA2.

 

[YuriLowell]

Dota2 is AAA. High production values, nothing meaningful locked behind a paywall, and free.

 

[Orayn]

Advertisements and product placement.

I seem to remember the original Far Cry was made free with ingame advertising.

Presenting ads and product placement in such a way that you could actually get measurable click-through sounds like it would be more obtrusive and detrimental to the experience than just charging for skins.

Also, those ad-supported re-releases on Direct2Drive were just that, re-releases. They came out quite a few years after the game initially released, and were presumably a total flop since there were so few of them.

 

[KKRT00]

Game modes, Items (cosmetic or otherwise).

I mean zero cost to experience 100% of the game, including cosmetic items.

Its business model, not charity.
Yeah I agree that hiding modes behind paywall or options [like WoT did with platoons for example] is terrible, but cosmetics or boosters are perfectly fine.

 

[Arkanius]

DOTA2 and Team Fortress 2.

/thread

 

[Zoned]

DOTA 2 and TF2.......and we are done here.

 

[eznark]

Game modes, Items (cosmetic or otherwise).

I mean zero cost to experience 100% of the game, including cosmetic items.

Product placement doesn't generate enough revenue to make that realistic.

 

[coughlanio]

Dota2 is AAA. High production values, nothing meaningful locked behind a paywall, and free.

It's still something locked behind a paywall though.

 

[Orayn]

It's still something locked behind a paywall though.

Nothing that affects the game in any meaningful way, and they're not locked behind a paywall.

 

[coughlanio]

Product placement doesn't generate enough revenue to make that realistic.

I guess so, I was just wondering if this was financially feasible, but I guess with the budget of current games, it's probably unlikely.

 

[Zoned]

It's still something locked behind a paywall though.

Why would anyone waste their time on this when you want everything for FREE with no ads or any other shit?

 

[Chojin]

Nothing that affects the game in any meaningful way, and they're not locked behind a paywall.

Exactly. It's all cosmetic. AAA free to play!

Also, Maybe Enemy Territory when it came out?

 

[MaxiLive]

Dota 2, TF2, LoL, World of Tanks, War Thunder, Warface, Warframe, most MMOs


There are lots of AAA production level free to play games. I doubt we will see many F2P single player experiences as the micro transactions currently don't fit that market. MP games works as it is something you can show off and share within the community with the prospect of more to come but in a single player experience that is solely based around your own experience and 99% of us wouldn't buy a hat duing our play through of The Last of Us.

 

[Skeff]

as well as DOTA 2, I'd say planetside 2 aswell, you can do everything without paying money, just takes a bit longer.

There'll be plenty of f2p games in the next 8 years or so, it seems it may be the hot thing this generation.

 

[patapuf]

Nothing that affects the game in any meaningful way, and they're not locked behind a paywall.

Technically some items are (chest exclusive). Though you could trade for them i guess.

 

[The Cowboy]

Nothing that affects the game in any meaningful way, and they're not locked behind a paywall.

True, don't the cosmetics also drop during gameplay and can be traded?.

 

[LiK]

Dota2 and upcoming Hearthstone look polished as hell.

 

[Orayn]

Technically some items are (chest exclusive). Though you could trade for them i guess.

Yep, the trading is what makes the difference. You can, in theory, get any cosmetic item in Dota 2 without spending any money, though you'd have to play a lot and get pretty lucky with item drops.

Then again, you could effectively pay for said items with "item drops" from other games thanks to Steam trading cards.

True, don't the cosmetics also drop during gameplay and can be traded?.

Yes. You get items at regular intervals through battle points, and items are also randomly awarded to a few players at the end of matches.

 

[Visualante2]

Hawken has high production values. Haven't played it though.

 

[agidot]

Humble bundle.

 

[BigDug13]

Game modes, Items (cosmetic or otherwise).

I mean zero cost to experience 100% of the game, including cosmetic items.

How would they recoup their development costs?

In these cases they will slow down progression fairly heavily to encourage you to pay.

 

[Addnan]

They need a way to make money in the end and it looks like Valve has the best f2p model right now. I don't see how we can have nothing behind a pay wall.

 

[Orayn]

Hawken has high production values. Haven't played it though.

Hawken is a far cry from OP's incredibly stringent definition of true F2P because the amount of time/money you'd need to spend to unlock everything is positively absurd.

 

[PetriP-TNT]

How would they recoup their development costs?

With hats. It works very well. edit: shit, I saw "including cosmetic items" thing too late'

Ads? About TF2 hats.

 

[Fersis]

World of Tanks is AAA.

 

[Mista Koo]

OP I don't think you understand what free 2 play means. It means that you can play it for free but it includes paid content for the full experience, this content is either exclusively paid for or unlockable via other means.
What you're asking for are free games, like the XBLA Doritos or Yaris games.

I think Killer Instinct is doing f2p right. You can play free using one character and buy each character individually or pay $20 and get all starting characters, costumes and the first batch of DLC ones.

 

[Draft]

DOTA 2 is a AAA game.

 

[Orayn]

OP I don't think you understand what free 2 play means. It means that you can play it for free but it includes paid content for the full experience, this content is either exclusively paid for or unlockable via other means.
What you're asking for are free games, like the XBLA Doritos or Yaris games.

I think Killer Instinct is doing f2p right. You can play free using one character and buy each character individually or pay $20 and get all starting characters, costumes and the first batch of DLC ones.

Smite and Tribes: Ascend also provide an interesting alternative to traditional F2P schemes, since they sell a "lifetime pass" that unlocks all current and future non-cosmetic content, for about the price of a retail game. It's a good option that I wish more games would implement.