POSTED BY Patrick Söderlund ON APR 15, 2015UPDATE ON A FEW OF OUR FREE-TO-PLAY PC GAMES
We’re constantly looking at how players are engaging with our games – listening, learning and shaping our experiences based on that feedback – and wanted to bring some news today regarding a few of our older PC free-to-play games.
Recently, we’ve been looking closely at the types of PC free-to-play experiences that players are engaging with across the world. For instance, Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ is a game that continues to have a very enthusiastic and growing player community, and we have plans to introduce more new story-driven game updates to our Star Wars: The Old Republic players this year.
On the other hand, some of our other PC free-to-play games are not as popular as they once were. So we find ourselves announcing the tough decision today that we are stopping development and winding down support for four PC free-to-play titles: Battlefield Heroes™, Battlefield™ Play4Free, Need for Speed™ World and FIFA World. These games will be live for another 90 days, after which they will go offline.
In more than five years since most of these titles launched, how we play games has changed dramatically. These were pioneering experiences, and we’re humbled that, over the years, so many of you joined us to enjoy the games and the community. While we say farewell to these free-to-play titles in the next few months, we are always exploring new concepts and ways to bring great games to more players around the world.
http://www.ea.com/news/update-on-a-few-of-our-free-to-play-pc-games--------
We received a report from the eerie ghost world of EA’s free-to-play MMO drive ‘em up Need for Speed World only last week. Its streets lay empty, making the twilight world a spooky haunted house of a city. And then… a car appeared. Oh, how much I’d like to have told young Jack “But Jack, NFSW closed down on this very day three years ago” and watch his jaw drop. But I couldn’t, because it’s only now closing.
EA today announced plans to close four of their free-to-play games: Need for Speed World, FIFA World, Battlefield Play4Free, and Battlefield Heroes.
NFS World was an MMO version of the racing series, like I explained only seven lines ago (are you even paying attention?). FIFA World was a F2P take on FIFA’s multiplayer, and only entered open beta last May – it will never leave it. Battlefield Play4Free was a mix of Battlefield 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. BF Heroes, lastly, was a cartoony third-person take on the FPS series. In short, they weren’t popular enough to keep running – or even finish, in the case of FIFA World.
All four will close in 90 days’ time. Accounts will be wiped, items and progress will be lost, leftover virtual cash will vanish, and no refunds will be given. Such is the peril of ‘games as service’.
EA have closed off new registrations, but current folks can still play. I imagine we’ll see the fascinating phenomenon of old folks drifting back to their former stomping grounds for one last drink/gig/game/fight/sandwich before the megacorp moves in and tears the block to the ground.
Wait, maybe All Hallow’s Eve would’ve been a cooler comparison, because ghosts are cool and spooky and it’d be nicely tie back to the spooky intro well Alice I guess that’s what you get for not thinking things through.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/04/15/ea-closing-f2p-battlefield/#more-282335
