Speaking at GDC, Cliff Bleszinski explains that LawBreakers will now be a premium title exclusive to Steam, rather than a free-to-play game as previously promised.

Cliff Bleszinski, lead designer of the Gears of War franchise, has kept fans eagerly awaiting his new studio's first title, LawBreakers, especially since the game was announced to be free-to-play. However, plans change, and Bleszinski has now announced that the studio is scrapping the free-to-play model for the game.

Speaking at GDC, Bleszinski explained that LawBreakers is going to be a Steam-exclusive PC game, and he referred to it as a premium title, meaning that there will be a purchase price. However, he also pointed out that it's not going to be in the typical $60 range, so it remains to be seen how much the game will cost.

Bleszinski stated that the game wouldn't be going free-to-play because he wants to make sure that the playing field is even for gamers, and that there are no barriers restricting access to certain classes or roles in the game. It sounds as though the title will immediately allow players to play in any capacity they wish, rather than placing classes or roles behind paywalls.

When LawBreakers was first revealed, Bleszinski stated that his team and publisher Nexon had made the choice to make the game free-to-play to reach as large a gaming audience as possible. However, his most recent statements have emphasized that the team felt that balance was an absolute necessity for LawBreakers, so shifting the game to a premium title was a must.

The decision to charge for the game may have also been due to LawBreakers' publisher, Nexon. Bleszinski noted back when the game was revealed that the publisher had the final say in how the game's publication was handled, and Nexon has previously published a large number free-to-play titles that have heavy emphasis on in-game microtransactions. It's possible that Nexon would only publish the game as a free-to-play title if LawBreakers also had a heavy emphasis of microtransactions, and that may have gone against keeping the game from becoming pay-to-win.

Charging a fee for the game may be the best for gamers and the developer, as it should allow for a more even playing field. It remains to be seen if the game will still include microtransactions of any kind, but so long as Bleszinski holds true to his promise to prevent the game from becoming pay-to-win, shooter fans will probably be content with the choice.

Are you still interested in playing LawBreakers now that you'll have to buy the game? Let us know in the comments.

LawBreakers is set to release exclusively on Steam for PC sometime this year.

Source: Gamespot