MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Developer CCP has had a change of heart and confirmed that Dust 514 will be completely free to play.
The studio had previously claimed that a cover charge” would be required to download the game, with the expense refunded in the form of in-game credits.
However, speaking to Eurogamer executive producer Brandon Laurino stated: "It was a relatively confusing proposition and we wanted to make it unambiguously that this is a free-to-play game.
"It’s very important as we take steps into this topic to unambiguously state that it is not a pay to win game. There is no micro-transaction that you can do that gives you an unfair advantage over someone who hasn’t paid anything.
It’s the classic micro-transaction dynamic of, ‘I can pay and get this item,’ or, ‘I can invest my time and get this item.’ But neither of those options will give me an unfair advantage over the other."
CCP has also confirmed that Dust 514 is coming to Vita – although perhaps not in the way in which you might have expected.
"On Vita we will have a companion app," Laurino added. "At the most basic level, you can do transactions on the market; equip and customise your character, your vehicles; set up strategies with your friends and Corporation members – all of these sort of companion functions on the go.
"We’re also exploring all of the super fun exciting stuff – interesting gameplay opportunities and things like that. But we’re not ready to talk about that. As we continue to explore what the possibilities are, between Vita and PS3, of which there are many, we’ll keep updating the app with stuff like that over time."
