In a completely unexpected twist, the North American and European versions of the highly anticipated MMORPG Black Desert Online isn't going to be free-to-play. The business model chosen by Daum Games Europe and just announced is buy-to-play, the same model used in Guild Wars (and the one that was recently dropped in Guild Wars 2, where now you just have to buy the expansions and get the core game for free). The NA and EU versions are said to differ in several ways from the Russian and Korean services, such as the “game's balancing, progression and monetization model.”
Despite being buy-to-play, Black Desert Online will include the usual in-game store with “vanity and convenience items” available for purchase.
“We are putting a lot of effort in the game’s Western localization,” said Daniel Loehr (AKA Belsazar), Project Manager at Daum Games, “We are localizing approximate 2.5 million words into English, German and French. Black Desert Online's content and gameplay sytems will be adjusted to accommodate Western players and our differentiating business model.”
Black Desert Online is set to launch early 2016, with the alpha expected to begin really soon. The western teaser site just opened. You can watch the new NA and Eu teaser below.
What do you think of this business model for the western release of Black Desert Online? Will it benefit the game or not?
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