The Rise of the Free

It wasn't so long ago that we were being told that the cost of making next-gen games was going to skyrocket to an awful lot, and we were going to have to pay a lot more for games than we were used to, something that we are now seeing, with it not uncommon for games in shops to cost £45 upward. Yet, this year DICE are releasing the latest Battlefield game, Battlefield Heroes for free!

The game itself is free, but you can buy upgrades as you play. But, DICE are also saying that all of the stuff you can buy can be unlocked at a later stage, just by playing the game. However, the major income that DICE are going to get from the game is advertising. Thankfully this will only be on the menu screens, not in the game itself. That in itself is a bold decision – putting playability before revenue.

The multi million dollar question here is it now possible for a games developer to cover its costs just through advertising? Surely it must be possible –

a) By releasing a game for free, you are going to get more players

b) With more players, you've got more people to display adverts to, and therefore more revenue.

c) Advertisers would pay millions to be directly associated with a big game. Imagine how much you could make selling the name Call of Duty: The Coca-Cola Wars. (Ok, that is probably never going to happen, its just an example)

Surely, an even more lucrative way to make money is by in-game advertising breaks like the ones we get on television, but, I’m not sure I’d put up with that; on television, I just switch over. Its not so easy in a game; I doubt most people would stand up to that.

Battlefield Heroes will hopefully be the first of many; other publishers will be waiting in the wings, letter DICE put their head above the parapet, and if it all goes well then they may well follow suit. Whilst we have already seen the first free Xbox Live Arcade, it will be interesting to see if any major releases (ie not Arcade) for the 360 or PS3 are released as free downloads. Smaller publishers could benefit greatly from releasing their games for free; the huge publicity could propel them to international fame (and the resulting fortune).

Battlefield Heroes will be out this year, but you can sign up for the beta (soon) at www.battlefield-heroes.com.

UPDATE - it does seem like other publishers will be following suit - Quake Live will be released for free later this year!