“Yes, we make less from the customer" with this plan, Dempsey said. "We don’t want to be that guy," he continued, explaining that many studios do free to play in a way that is “largely exploitative.”
Check out the full rundown below to see what changes when Defiance changes its pricing model this summer.Players who purchase a new box or digital copy of Defiance (or already own one) are granted the following bonuses:
- A grant of 1,000 Arkforge, a currency redeemable for resetting weapon mastery, upgrading your weapon’s power rating, or even bumping an uncommon weapon to epic rarity.
- 4 Character Slots, 5 Loadouts, up to 75 Ark Keycodes, and a minimum 70 Inventory Slots.
- They will also enjoy thirty days of Paradise Patron status when Defiance begins its free-to-play service.
- Boosts to skill, XP, scrip, salvage, and reputation gain rates that stack with the matching boosts available in the store.
- 10% store-wide discount – boosts, costumes, lock boxes, all of it!
- A grab bag of one-hour boosts or Arkforge from Daily and Weekly Ark Hunter Bonus Lock Boxes.
In May, leading into SyFy's second season of the TV show, Defiance will begin its television crossover story missions. That content will be free as well.
Trion didn't seem keen on Xbox One or PS4 releases of Defiance when asked. "Our primary goal is to have the largest install base possible," Dempsey explained. Presently, the audience isn't quite there on PS4 or Xbox One. Mitch Dyer is an associate editor at IGN. He's trying to read 50 books in 2014. These are the 50. Talk to Mitch about books and other stuff on Twitter at @MitchyD and subscribe to MitchyD on Twitch.