The Free-To-Play model for games has been creeping ever closer to the dominant option for devs since it started. Free-To-Play games actually dominate the Play Store more than paid games at current, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. Despite woes from gamers and customers of the downloads begging for actual “paid games”, it seems that free-to-play is becoming more and more commonplace. Rovio, makers of the popular Angry Birds franchise and their most recent Angry Birds GO!, says that it stands behind the free-to-play model for games, and that “it’s the best model for gamers and devs”.
Rovio’s VP of games Jami Laes told the Wall Street Journal that it chose to go with the F2P model for Angry Birds GO! because it wanted to provide the best possible gaming experience, and that past games have been both paid and free, which ultimately led to confusion for gamers. With Free-To-Play in place for Angry Birds GO!, we can certainly expect future Rovio titles to have the same monetization platform, especially now knowing the stance they take on it. Laes went on to say that with only one version of the game available(I.E. F2P), everyone knows what to expect from the game and there should be no confusion whatsoever. If you think about that for a second, it bodes a sort of true stigma, as everyone will know that the game is free before they install it, and most apps display whether or not they have microtransactions in them or not now, right inside the play store listing. However, there will absolutely be those people that miss these pieces of information, and will still end up confused in the long run, and open the game to find that they need to pay to upgrade something.
Whether you feel that F2P games are ok or whether you feel that they should drop off the face of the planet, certain games like Angry Birds GO! for instance, require no such commitment to paying for anything to win, although this may feel like the overall pace. In reality, Angry Birds GO! is a great example of how Free-To-Play can be executed while still alowing the gamer to enjoy what they’re playing and not feel cheated. Laes was once again captured saying
“Free-To-Play can be the best model for our fans, consumers, developers and publisher”
He also stated that they absolutely plan to take this route in the future. What do you think about the free-to-play model for games and about Rovio’s choice to stick to this monetization platform? Let us know what you think in the comments. You can also pick up Angry Birds GO! from the button below if you want to give it a try.