Albion Online, an unconventional sandbox MMO, is now officially free-to-play. Developer Sandbox Interactive made the announcement last month that it would be transitioning to a free-to-play model, and as of April 10, 2019, Albion Online is freely open and available to everyone who wants to play. While Albion Online used to be buy-to-play with an optional Premium subscription, anyone can now download the game, create a free account, and start playing. Of course Premium subscriptions will still be available, but according to the official FAQ “free accounts will have no game-play restrictions and can take part in all aspects of the game. Since the business model remains unchanged, Premium status will remain purchasable with either real money or in-game currency for all account types.”
Many players were quick to ask the reason behind Sandbox’s decision to go free-to-play. In the official FAQ posted on the Albion Online Forum, representatives provided new and inveterate players with clear and logical answers to their questions. The developers mentioned that the move was done to help them realize their long-term vision for the game, which involved making it completely player-driven. For them to achieve this dream for Albion Online, they had to make it accessible to as many players as possible. However, thanks to the well-thought out way of implementing the free-to-play model, the developers are confident that the only real change that Albion Online players will experience is that they’ll be seeing plenty more players walking around and playing the game.
Because Albion Online transitioned from being a buy-to-play MMO, concerns were raised regarding what will happen to the players who bought the game. To thank the players who have been supporting Albion Online by purchasing Founders Packs or Starter Packs (which, prior to the F2P model, was the only way to start playing the game), Sandbox will be gifting substantial rewards to its players. Among these rewards are the exclusive Specter Wolf mount which will be ‘vaulted’ and inaccessible to any other players in the future, 1000 gold, three days of Premium claimable whenever, and a special Avatar Ring.
There’s plenty of other gameplay and economy changes that are being implemented alongside the move to free-to-play, all of which are detailed in the FAQ linked here. Whether you’re a long-time Albion Online player or one of the many waves of newcomers that have just started their Albion Online adventure, we’d like to know what you think. Is Albion Online worth it as a free player? Will the move to a free-to-play model improve the experience that Albion Online provides? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
