Singularity 6 has announced that its next social MMORPG palia will be free – and don’t worry, it will only sell cosmetic items.
palia was first announced less than a year ago. Billing itself as a “community simulation”, this upcoming game will immerse players in a fantasy world filled with farming, fun and adventure.
The shift to relaxing MMOs has clearly resonated with people – Singularity 6 raised another $30 million in Series B funding a month after that game’s global reveal. Now the developer of that upcoming game has revealed that this game will launch as a free experience. Check out the official trailer for a refresher on what this game is all about!
Why palia Becoming Free-to-Play is the right decision
The announcement of palia being a free-to-play game is welcome, although it does raise some concerns, especially regarding its monetization model. The Singularity 6 developer tackled these potential issues head-on announcement.
“With Palia, we will only monetize cosmetic content,” the announcement read. “Initially, this will focus on character clothing and costumes, but we’ll be evaluating more spaces over time. There’s nothing groundbreaking here; clothing and costumes have long been an element foundation of a successful, user-friendly and free to play monetization (F2P) systems. We think this will suit Palia as well.”
Singularity 6 aims to deliver an in-game shopping experience with “high agency and low pressure”. It promises not to monetize core gameplay aspects such as boosters. However, the downside is that high-end cosmetic items will be exactly that: high-end.
“There’s a corollary to this that we want to be upfront about: If you can’t buy the things you earn, that also means you can’t earn the things you can buy,” the ad explained. “Ultimately, we believe that by separating these systems, we can ensure that we’re still designing what’s best for gameplay while still selling products that are worth buying for what they are. We think it’s the right balance to deliver the best gaming experience we can.”
The developers will be willing to answer further questions about monetization during one of its regular Ask the Devs sessions which are regularly hosted on the palia Discord. As for the launch date of the game, it has not been decided yet – for now you can find out more at palia by by visiting its official website.
What do you think of palia be a free-to-play experience? Do you think this game will live up to the hype? Let us know in the comments below!