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Nicholas Lovell
Home   >   Analysis and Opinion   >   Opinion   >   One reason why the dominant shooter on PlayStation 4 will be F2P

One reason why the dominant shooter on PlayStation 4 will be F2P

By on June 13, 2013

Joystiq reports that free-to-play games won’t require PlayStation Plus for online multiplayer. Sony Worldwide Studios President Shuhei told Joystiq,

“As far as free-to-play games are concerned, it’s the publisher’s decision whether they put it inside or outside of PS Plus.”

Everything we know about PS4

So on the PS4, publishers can develop an online multiplayer shooter, tack an separate 6-10 hour expensive narrative- and level-based single player experience onto it and try to sell that for $60 at retail, as well as requiring users who want to play the online multiplayer component to be spending $50 a year for the privilege.

Or they can go free-to-play, eliminating the $60 upfront cost. And the $50 subscription. And have a bigger audience. And have the potential to make a higher average revenue per user.

Expect the dominant online multiplayer shooter on the PS4 to be free-to-play. I wasn’t expecting to say that. But I think this is a pretty safe bet.

About Nicholas Lovell

Nicholas is the founder of Gamesbrief, a blog dedicated to the business of games. It aims to be informative, authoritative and above all helpful to developers grappling with business strategy. He is the author of a growing list of books about making money in the games industry and other digital media, including How to Publish a Game and Design Rules for Free-to-Play Games, and Penguin-published title The Curve: thecurveonline.com