A short time ago, Codemasters unexpectedly announced a change to their Archlord payment model. When released, Archlord was pay-to-play. On December 5, 2006 Archlord became free-to-play. We were curious as to what implications this had to people who bought the game, might have paid to play, and what the future held.

When I say that it was free-to-play I assumed it also meant free to download as well. This would have a serious impact on Archlord’s future. So we went to Codemasters with some hard pointed questions about Codemaster's decision to change the payment model and the impact it would have. Tim 'Mr.Ktat' Hodges, Archlord’s Community Liaison Officer, was kind enough to answer these questions for us.

Stratics: When was the English adapted version first released?

Mr.Ktat: The western release of ArchLord was October 3, 2006 with French and German following on October 6, 2006.

Stratics: When Archlord first came out, you needed to buy the game and pay to play. Why did you make the change to ‘free to download’ and ‘free to play’? Did the game meet subscription expectations as ‘pay to play’? What do you have to say to those people who bought the game? Will this change allow the game to be profitable?

Mr.Ktat: ArchLord is now Fee Free i.e. players are no longer required to pay a subscription fee every month in order to play the game. The game itself is not actually free to purchase.

Players will still need to purchase the box from any of the major games retailers, or through the Codemasters E-store in order to play the game. Customers who purchase ArchLord from any retailer will still receive their in game credits as well, allowing them to enter the Chantra shop and buy items.

The decision to remove the subscription fees for ArchLord was a fairly simple one. Since the start of the BETA service for ArchLord we have been experimenting with various payment models and systems to meet with the demands of the players of the game and the wider industry. The decision to change the payment model within ArchLord came after extensive feedback from our community; we listened and delivered what they wanted.

As with any MMO, ArchLord is a community driven game, and it was clear that our community wanted a payment system to give them the most flexibility when playing ArchLord and moving to “Free to Play” has given us just that. Since we removed the subscription fee for ArchLord, we have gradually refunded anyone who still had some sort of subscription on their account.

New players to the service will not need to worry about this as they will be able to play ArchLord with no subscriptions. ArchLord will still generate revenue from box sales, as well as from those players that choose to take part in item selling.

Stratics: How do you see this change impacting the game’s present and future support? Are there plans for live in-game content and future updates? What impact do you foresee regarding live content and future development teams? Can the free-to-play system pay for live in-game content future updates teams?

Mr.Ktat: Overall there will be very little impact on the game’s present and future support; we are all still very committed to ArchLord and will continue to support it fully. Players can still expect regular fixes and patches, as well as extensive content updates. We are already building towards the release of Episode II that will see a host of new content introduced, including new armour, weapons and quests. We don’t foresee any problems with supporting the game using the current model.

Stratics: During the days leading up to release, you scrapped the in-game ‘pay for items’ system. Is this system coming back? Is this how you intend to pay for in-game support and future development?

Mr.Ktat: The initial credit-based packages we offered were meant to provide players with flexibility in how much they wanted to pay for ArchLord. However, we cancelled this in response to overwhelming player feedback. The original PLAYplus plan was to give players a balance between an item selling model, and a standard monthly subscription model.

This model will not be returning and ArchLord’s current subscription / item selling system will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

ArchLord is Free To Play with item selling for those that want to. ArchLord will continue to receive updates throughout the year and as mentioned before, we are expecting to implement Episode II shortly. We are also working on content for Episode III and beyond, so 2007 promises to be a very exciting year for ArchLord indeed. Keep checking out www.archlordgame.com for future updates.

Stratics: The Codemasters Estore has Archlord listed as $27.49. Is this a mistake or is Archlord still being sold? What would this package hold that the free game doesn’t?

Mr.Ktat: Unfortunately this is not an error, and ArchLord is not free to purchase. Once customers have purchased the game, it’s free to play.

Stratics: What is the Archlord PC Premium Pack? With the recent change to ‘free to play’, is this pack still available?

Mr.Ktat: The ArchLord PC Premium Pack includes a number of exclusive in-game items that players can use to enhance their characters. The pack is still available at the Codemasters Estore.

Interview and article by Jerome "Dead Avatar" Bohaychuk