For this week’s Friday Fight, we are changing the format slightly. Instead of a 1v1 fight, we are throwing a third competitor into the ring for a no-holds-barred cage match. Here’s the topic of today’s fight: Which monetization model is better: a monthly subscription, Buy to Play (B2P), or Free to Play (F2P)? Before you grab your pitchforks and hunt me down for being an idiot for even asking the obvious, all three models have positives and negatives. But, just like every Friday Fight, in the battle between monetization models, there can be only one winner.
Free To Play
Many gamers think that F2P is the bane of the gaming industry. It’s just a bunch of greedy execs trying to squeeze out every last penny from the consumer’s wallet. But isn’t that true of any business model?
Free to Play does have some benefits. The first is accessibility. A casual gamer can play a game for free for as long as they wish, while ‘whales’ keep the lights on by spending thousands upon thousands of dollars. Yes, you might have to spend money to access all of the content, but many F2P MMOs offer dozens of hours of gameplay for free.
Although F2P MMOs often come with the stigma of being lower-quality cash grabs, many of them are actually high quality. For example, the recently released Throne & Liberty has absolutely beautiful graphics and is tons of fun to play. Black Desert, Lost Ark, and Path of Exile are also good examples of F2P MMOs that continue to attract thousands of players years after their release.
Buy To Play
A primary benefit to a Buy to Play MMO is quality. Unlike a F2P game that can launch with generic assets and limited content, a B2P product has to have high-quality content. Otherwise, the player base will never grow. What good is an MMO without a large player base?
Buy to Play is probably the most peculiar monetization model for an MMO. The upfront purchase helps to pay for the cost of development, but it isn’t enough to keep the game servers running indefinitely. Ultimately, you will still have to contend with having an in-game cash shop as the primary revenue stream.
Monthly Subscription
While some gamers will shy away from the cost of a monthly subscription, many MMOers, especially long-time veterans of the genre, find the traditional subscription model very cost-effective. $15 a month for unlimited access to everything an MMO has to offer may have felt like a lot when B2P and F2P models first arrived, but people are willing to spend $8 a day for their Starbucks fix.
Monthly subscription MMOs are generally all-inclusive. Although you will still have to pay for major expansions, all minor content updates are included in your subscription. Cosmetic shops are starting to creep into some subscription MMOs, but again, you usually don’t have giant cash shops full of items that require additional payment. This keeps your gaming budget at a set cost, and there won’t be any surprises when little Billy uses your credit card to buy V-Bucks.
My Take
I have always felt there was a place for F2P and B2P, but I used to vehemently defend the subscription model. However, that was back when I put 5+ hours a day into a single MMO. Now, with so many MMOs available - not to mention a backlog of single-player games that never stops growing - I tend to prefer MMOs with a Free to Play model.
I’m not playing competitively, so I don’t care if Whaler Bob gets an edge in PvP by spending $50,000 to gear up. And if his desire to be number one means I can play for free, so be it.
I also don’t care if some of the content in a F2P MMO is behind a paywall. I still get plenty of content for free. And if I really like the game, I don’t mind passing some money on to the developers to gain access to more content. If I don’t like it, I will just walk away without a penny spent.
I take that same take it or leave it stance on F2P cash shops. I think loot boxes are crap, so I don’t buy them. I will pick up things like extra inventory slots, special classes, and cosmetic items if I plan on sticking around for a while. And again, if Whaler Bob buying XP pots, level ups, and elite gear means I get to play for free, then cram that cash shop with anything and everything you can think of.
