Fable Legends, Lionhead’s upcoming installment in the long-running RPG franchise, will mark a significant departure for the series, as the upcoming title will be the studio’s first free-to-play release.
The company confirmed the news to Eurogamer earlier today, and divulged some new information relating to the core gameplay lurking beneath its fantastical aesthetic. As we already learned following its E3 debut last year, Legends bears some semblance to Evolve in that it will sport a four-versus-one dynamic, with the fifth player taking control of the pantomime villain from a top-down perspective.
But what about this new-fangled business model? Well, in taking inspiration from Riot Games’ approach to League of Legends, Lionhead plans to offer players the choice to play as four different heroes from day one, with plans to rotate these playable characters after a period of two weeks. However, should fans take a liking to a particular character, they can purchase them permanently for real world money. And while progress will be carried over once you commit to buying, the studio is yet to announce an official price point.
Here’s what John Needham — head honcho at Lionhead — had to share about the company’s perspective on micro-transactions.
“There are free-to-play games like World of Tanks out there that are very much a pay-to-win kind of experience. For me the better ones for the customers are the ones where you get to enjoy all of the content without paying money. And then you pay if you want to.
“Our mission is for a fun experience on any platform. As a first-party studio our goal isn’t to invoke anything vaguely like buyers remorse. I want my players to feel like, oh, I bought something cool. I don’t regret that purchase. That’s what matters to me.”
Fable Legends is expected to arrive for PC and Xbox One in the latter stages of 2015.
