Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is making another shift in how it tests its upcoming crowdfunded MMORPG. Today, it announced that it will be shifting to a seasonal development model.
Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has had what feels like a tumultuous few months. From its art style shift that hasn't sat well with many out there to its insistence on developing an extraction-style game mode to test and potentially monetize, only to drop that after fan backlash, Pantheon hasn't quite felt like they are on solid ground since.
One of the goals of that extraction-style mode, though, was more continuous testing that would provide real-world data to the Pantheon developers. This is a core pillar of Visionary Realms' upcoming "Seasons-Based" development schedule, which was announced this morning.
In a press blast to the media, Visionary Realms states that the upcoming seasonal testing will allow for regular testing with far more players than before. The new approach will open these seasonal windows up to any backer, regardless of backing tier. Every six weeks, Pantheon's tests will receive a "significant content update" for players to test.
How much time you can test during this season depends on your testing pledge, with the VIP players given access for the whole six weeks. Meanwhile, even those pledges of $50 can jump in at least one week out of every season, while Champion-level pledges will have access for at least two of the six weeks.
When those pledges can play, it looks like access will be scheduled based on your tier. So, while VIP pledges will get access to the full six weeks of each season, Champions will only have access to weeks five and six. Meanwhile, Supporter pledges will gain access for that final week.
Obviously, one of the major goals of this style of testing is not only to consistently get backers into the MMO but also to capture even more data for further development. Additionally, by opening up access to every backer now while previously locked behind high paywalls, the team can potentially pick up some more pledges for those curious but not curious enough to spend $1000 on a VIP pledge for full-time access.
So when does all this start? Soon, actually.
The first season, which the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen team is calling "Chapter 1: Into the Pass" kicks off its season on February 17th. This first season will give players access to the zone Avendyr's Pass, notably the "overland areas." This will be expanded on further when Seasons 2 and 3 are released later this year. Currently, Season 2, dubbed "Chapter 1, Season 2: The Mouth of Madness," will kick off on March 30th.
You can view the current schedule at Pantheon's new Seasons page.
