Turtle Rock Studios co-founders Chris Ashton and Phil Robb, announces that the 4v1 asymmetrical shooter Evolve is getting completely overhauled and going permanently free-to-play.

The 4v1 asymmetrical shooter experience Evolve was once one of the most anticipated games prior to its release, thanks largely to its appearances at trade shows and successful beta testing periods. Unfortunately, that momentum was derailed due to mediocre reviews, an outcry of what fans saw as DLC swindling, and a population that appears to quickly decline after launch. Not satisfied with the current state of affairs, Turtle Rock Studios appears to be doubling down on the game by announcing a major overhaul and permanent pricing change.

"We want that magic back and we aim to make it happen. We’ve made a lot of changes, improvements and additions to Evolve over the past year and we’ve got a lot more coming. In short, we’re giving this game a vigorous overhaul!"

In a post to its community, co-founders Chris Ashton & Phil Robb detailed the major changes coming to Evolve by looking back at the pre-launch promise the title carried with it and how the team is aiming to recapture that feeling. The first step in that process involves massive updates and changes centered around improving the UI and stability of the game, shortening load times, giving fans more customization options, overhauling the progression system, and fixing bugs. Lastly, Turtle Rock is completely reworking the Hunter class to make it more valuable to the team.

PC players are seeing the biggest change, as the game is going completely free-to-play starting today as the game relaunches under beta status. The studio is hoping players flood the game, allowing the studio to put the new server infrastructure to the test, ultimately making the game a better experience in the long run. Players who have already purchased the game will be granted the "Founder" status and will receive gifts, rewards, and special access as a way of saying thank you for believing in the game.

Turtle Rock also confirmed via Twitter, that once the PC version is up and running successfully, the team will then set its sights on the console versions and convert those to F2P models as well.

Before Turtle Rock completely moves on to its next new game, the studio is giving Evolve one last chance. It'll be interesting to see if this plan will work and revive a fan base that dropped off sharply mere weeks after the game launched. The studio has made significant updates and additions to the game since it launched early last year, including more monsters, more hunters, and new modes so a huge shot in the arm move like this may be just what the game needs.

What do you think of this new free to play model? Does it make you want to pick up and play the game again or are you truly done with it? Hit us up in the comments.

Evolve is available now on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

Source: Turtle Rock Studios