Atlas Reactor [official site] has chucked a uey and will launch under a revolutionary new model named “buy-to-play”, abandoning previous free-to-play plans. (Reminder: Atlas Reactor is the multiplayer turn-based tactical combat game with simultaneous turns, made by Trion Worlds, them lot behind the Minecraftbut Trove and MMORPG Rift.) The developers say that ideas they had to build a sustainable business model for Atlas Reactor under free-to-play would ruin the game’s fun so… they won’t.

Atlas Reactor’s a team-based tactical combat game where both players turns play out simultaneously, queuing each unit’s actions to predict and counter their enemy’s moves then watching it all unfold. Important bits like characters and their skill-altering modifications could be unlocked by playing (slower than paying cash, of course), but Trion also sold cosmetic items like character skins and your usual F2P boosters for account levelling and whatnot.

Evidently that wasn’t profitable enough but rather than ramp it up, they’ve backed off. Executive producer Peter Ju explained today:

“During Closed Beta, we’ve been figuring out how to best tune our Free to Play (‘F2P’) game to create a sustainable business. To make it viable, we would have had to do some things that run counter to your feedback, making the game less fun. “Instead, we’ve decided to change the way we offer Atlas Reactor to you, shifting from a Free to Play game to a premium digital game (aka ‘buy-to-play’).”

Atlas Reactor will be sold for $30, which will naturally include all current and future characters. It sounds like they’ll still sell cosmetic customisation bits like skins and taunts, but they’ll be cheaper and some will be earnable through play. Oh, and folks who’ve bought any of the Founder’s Pack for beta access or bought $10 of in-game microcrash will receive the full game.

Here, this trailer shows a bit of action to explain Atlas Reactor’s simultaneous turn setup. Unlike some in the genre, turns are split into four phases which play out in order: preparation, dash moves like dodges and charges, projectile shots, then finally other movement with a bonus for characters who’ve done nothing else that turn.



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