Today Vogster Entertainment, the developers behind the recently released MMORPG CrimeCraft, have announced a new subscription structure. The changes will take effect towards the end of October and will include 2 subscription options and a unlimited free trial.
· Unlimited Free Trial –New CrimeCraft players will be able to experience the major features of the game for free for as long as they want.
· Varied Subscription Options – CrimeCraft will introduce a new Standard Subscription for $4.99/month in addition to the current $9.99/month Premium Subscription option. The major differences between the subscription levels is the extent of customization, skill slots, speed of experience gain and inventory capacity. Standard and Premium subscription features will also be showcased behind “velvet rope” areas to allow players to make a fully-informed subscription decision.
· Seamless Transition – Players can seamlessly convert from a free trial to a paying account and switch between subscription levels. Features will be placed “on hold” or unlocked based on the current subscription level.
· Original Gangsters – In appreciation of our current CrimeCraft customers, everyone that purchases the game between launch and the introduction of the free trial later this month will receive a third month of Premium Subscription at no cost, and a host of in-game rewards including an “Original Gangster” tag and icon for their characters as well as priority access to future content
The boxed version of CrimeCraft that is sold exclusively at Best Buy and FutureShop retail stores will remain the ideal way to jump into the world of Sunrise City. It now includes three free months of premium membership, an initial stake of 100 gold bars and access to exclusive in-game items – virtual apparel from Marc Ecko and Atticus Clothing, a discount card for in-game purchases and a combat backpack to expand carrying capacity.
Obviously sales and subscription numbers are not meeting expectations. CrimeCraft was only released a little over a month ago on Aug 25th, so to see this kind of promotion this early on you know the game is in trouble. If there are any CrimeCraft gamers reading this, we’d love to know the state of the game, so please write to us.
Aside from the new subscription options, Vogster is also planning the first major update also scheduled towards the end of Oct.
· Sunrise City Times – In-game newspaper that will feed information to the players concerning the latest news and happening in the game, including dynamic exploits by players and gangs.
· Your Name in Lights – In addition to making stars of players inside the newspaper feature, top ranked gangs and players will see their alter egos promoted on billboards.
· Titles Through Achievements – By completing certain difficult achievements, players will gain access to in-game icons and titles to make their character stand out and further communicate street credit and reputation.
· Kill the Boss Mode – A new PvE mode that allows players to cooperatively fight AI controlled enemies across every in-game map and take out bosses to get the best loot. This dramatically enhances the variety of environments for the highly praised PvE instances currently in the game.
· Storytellers – New Municipal Agent NPCs will provide a more in depth look at the back story that makes the universe of CrimeCraft a place of guns, gangs and intrigue.
· New NPC Gang and Mission Chains – A new NPC gang will offer additional missions and jobs.
· Player Loot Drops – Now players will be able to gain loot from participating in Riot Mode PvP, with the highest ranked players dropping more valuable loot if killed.
Hmmm… Never even knew that game came out… I may give it a shot. I like the idea of a MMOFPS more than most… I loved Hellgate…
CrimeCraft made an attempt on merging a bunch of different revenue models at once. They released a game wherein you had to buy a box, then pay for a subscription, and -then- made it so that customization options and better weapons were available in a cash shop. You can have sub numbers OR cash shop; most gamers won’t go for both.
It’s good to see them go F2P. They should have done that in the first place. Perhaps it was their plan; hardcores buy the box, spend oodles of money, and then they bring in the on-the-fencers by removing the initial cost.
All that said, CrimeCraft isn’t terrible. It’s not amazingly good, but I had some fun with the beta. I was incredulous when I discovered their revenue model.
The game is pretty rad, but it is true that so far the population of the world is slim, so this is without a doubt being done to raise the awareness to the public and try to get more people in the game.
It has issues, but it is still loads of fun, go check it out.
the game is full of fail, 1 week in beta was enough to see that.
I’m not normally one to badmouth a game, but this was so overpromised and under delivered its sad.
there is no mmo. It’s a large (annoyingly large) lobby you walk a round in to queue up and find some basic venders and such. no fighting in the lobby at all. A menu system would have been much better just from frustration.
There is no criminal element to the game, its just you basic fps style matchups, with the usual varieties.
theres nothing here worth a subscription, or even a one time cost.
[...] who had an exclusive agreement with BestBuy for their release. I recently commented on the troubles Crimecraft was having because of this when they announce they were switching to a free2play [...]
This game won’t last through 2010. With a VERY low population, I’m guessing under 5000 (could be way less). The frustrating factors are that it is extremely PVP dependant. There is little to no single player content. Given that the population is so low, it is difficult to get enough players to join “instance” matches to complete mission objective to level your character. The game has so much potential but the developers don’t seem to be interested in trying to make player suggestions reality. So in the end they’ll just keep losing subscriptions because of ignorance. Another MMO that’s become a ticking time bomb. Another perfect example of how THQ drags things through their rears
the game is pretty good i just started lil less over a week now and i still love playing the game