Shadow Realms - Might Be F2P on Release

Kotaku has news that Bioware's online Co-op game Shadow Realms might be F2P on release. Seems they learned their lesson after the last MMO they launched.

Specifics haven’t been decided yet, but it’s pretty evident that BioWare will be looking at non-traditional monetisation models for its new online game, Shadow Realms - whether that’s full free-to-play or something closer to an episodic model.

“We are not ready to talk about specifics, but I’ll talk about some things,” said BioWare Austin’s General Manager Jeff Hickman, when we spoke about Shadow Realms at Gamescom. “When we look at games like this the very first thing that we do is think about the passion that we have for building whatever the game is. We don’t go, what could make us money at EA? We want players to feel like it’s a fun game that they love to play, and they are glad to pay for it, in whatever way. Then we’ll worry about what the monetisation is.”

More information.

Not surprising given how awful it looked in the gameplay video. Slapping the BioWare name on this thing is just another step in the long but steady descent of that brand-name into meaninglessness.

Well, there are good F2P games, and I count SW:TOR as one of them (not great, you know, but good for an MMO).
So… I guess this could be good, but I have little to no interest in co-op games. I'm always glad if I do not have to rely on other players to enjoy a game.

SW:TOR wasn't free when it released, and that's the important distinction. This thing reeks of something that would be free right off the bat.

Free-2-Pass