Last week, though we didn’t get to meet up with developer Freejam at E3, the guys hosted me for a demo of the upcoming XBOX One and Windows 10 edition of their hit Free to Play game, Robocraft Infinity. Due out in early 2018, RoboCraft Infinity will be a Buy to Play title, and that means the progression will be a bit more free-wheeling and open than what you currently find on the Steam version. Read on for more details.
If you love Robocraft now, you’re going to love it still when it’s on XBOX One. At its core, this is the same game you know and love. 5v5 battles waged across tons of maps with varying objectives – all duked out with each player’s own custom-made robots of land and sky. That much remains the same.
If you play Robocraft, the F2P version now though, you’ll notice that the freemium mechanics of paying for faster progress and having to re-craft parts that are destroyed is limiting. After all, Freejam needs to eat too, and the in-game expenditures in Robocraft F2P help keep the lights on with the UK developer. Robocraft Infinity changes things up a bit.
Instead of downloading and playing for free, Robocraft Infinity will have a purchase price up front. This allows Freejam to front load the content in the game. As you play, you unlock pieces and parts to put in your robots, and instead of having to find them multiple times to use them on many different robots, once you unlock them in Infinity, they’re unlocked for good. You can create and use them on as many robots as you want.
Other improvements and additions come in the form of taking advantage of the XBOX One X’s power, and Play Everywhere functionality with Windows 10 machines. The game will be cross-platform, but the F2P version won’t interact at all with the Buy to Play. They’re two entirely different economies, even if the core game remains the same.
All in all, I was impressed with the work done so far on Robocraft Infinity. The part of me that loathes F2P models also likes the idea of getting it all for one price in the XBOne and Win10 version. Betas and the like are coming later this year, with the full game being released in early 2018. Keep your eyes peeled, and be sure to check out the F2P version while you wait.