Free-to-Play Made Sense for Neverwinter and Cryptic

A lot of people were surprised to learn that the new Neverwinter video game from Perfect World and Cryptic was moving to the free-to-play MMO business model but the developers say that the move made sense to them and allows the team to create a more complex experience.

Speaking to MMORPG.com Andy Velasquez, who is the lead producer working on Neverwinter, has stated, “The change from CORPG to a full action RPG F2P MMO is a change that just made sense for us. Perfect World wanted to go big. Expand everything. Do more. Do better. Take your time. Really blow it out.”

The developer says that the barrier of entry for a new experience needs to be as low as possible and that means that a free client can be just as important as putting together easy to understand gameplay mechanics and compelling worlds.

Velasquez added, “With Neverwinter, we’re going to prove that F2P does not describe a type of gameplay – it only describes the fundamentals of a business model. We’re going to deliver what could be the first AAA Western-developed action RPG MMO. No after-the-fact transitions. We’re building it right from the ground up.”

The developer believes that at the current rate of work the team can easily deliver the game during 2012, after it was originally set to arrive during the autumn of this year.

Velasquez also talked about The Foundry, the planned user content creation tool that will accompany Neverwinter, saying that it will be even more developed than initially planned and will allow players to create levels but also monsters, traps and items.

The team believes that the free-to-play model and the power of The Foundry, will make the new Neverwinter MMO a success even if it never manages to develop a player base as big as that of something like World of Warcraft.