No, it's not free-to-play

Scrolls, that Mojang card game that had the crazy legal battle with Bethesda over the rights to the title Scrolls, now has a sort of release date. Just like Minecraft, Scrolls purchases will unlock access to the game's open beta and then the full release later on. Today, Mojang announced the date of said open beta's launch, as well as pricing for said game. All in all it's rather simple, yet also beyond confusing upon further consideration.

Let's get the facts straight first. Scrolls' open beta starts June 3 and is purchasable for the not-low-but-not-high price of $20/£13/€15. Whether that includes all of the cards currently available in the game, or if there's going to be some sort of purchasable in-game currency made available at a later date is unclear. We know as much as you do in this regard. Mojang will be releasing more details soon.

What makes me wonder if there will be purchasable items later made available? A small reference to a "secondary currency" called "shards" on the Scrolls website. Also, the fact that these card games always seems to tease more money out of players the longer they survive out in the wild. Honestly, I'm surprised it costs so much up front, on top of not having announced a secondary payment method.

Anyway, Scrolls' open beta starts June 3 for both PC and Mac. A $20 investement will set you up with beta access and likely every version of the game from then on. Like card games? Like Mojang? Well, maybe you should wait and see what this is before jumping in.