Funcom is finally ready to reveal the details about the recently-announced overhaul of The Secret World. When the game relaunches later this spring, it will do so with a new name: Secret World Legends. Funcom considers SWL a "shared world RPG" that sports over a hundred hours of stories and quests. Lastly, Secret World Legends will be adopting a free to play monetization strategy.
According to Executive Producer Scott Junion, "One of our biggest goals in relaunching the game has been to reimagine the core gameplay experience in a way befitting a modern-day action RPG."
So what do we know so far? According to press information, Legends will not simply be the same game with a new name. Funcom has added a new starting experience, overhauled combat from the ground up, designed a new progression system.
A few other nuggets of information:
- SWL will be available only on Steam at the start
- completely free to play with no game purchase, all content, including any future content, is available to everyone
- microtransactions will be present including additional weapon pages, extra inventory space, additional characters, vanity items "and more"
- free accounts have access to one character slot, though more can be purchased
- a premium currency called Aurum will be present that can be bought and sold on the Exchange
- localized languages include English, German and French
Secret World Legends will also have a Patron Program available for interested players. Players can purchase the Patron Rewards Program in 30-day increments or purchase the Aurum premium currency. Rewards include convenience items and in-game bonuses. Each time players purchase Aurum or access to the Rewards Program, their Patron "rank" increases. Benefits of being a Patron are active for the duration of the time purchases. If players are no longer Patrons, any future purchases will see them returned to the Patron Level they had earned before.
Folks who are current players of The Secret World will be able to link their MMO account to Legends. By so doing, Funcom Points can be used to purchase Aurum and any remaining membership can be used in Legends. Vanity items can also be moved from TSW to Legends. Current TSW subscriptions will roll over to the Legends Patron Rewards system. Characters will remain on The Secret World and can be played there, though not in Legends. The team is working on a way to transfer vanity and store items to Legends.
While not completely ready to talk details, Funcom promises that more information is incoming in the near future. In the meantime, anyone interested in helping test out the new systems can do so by vising the Secret World Legends site.
