Why Isn't This Game Free-To-Play?

It seems like Halo Wars 2 would do very well as a Free-To-Play title. Now I am not talking about giving away the game with no ability to make money. Take a look at the model for Killer Instinct. This game is based around the idea that everyone can play but many of the characters are locked behind some type of payment wall or cycle on a regular basis. As more people are exposed to the game and find characters that they enjoy then they can purchase the specific content. The game is also sold in "editions" that contain different amounts of packaged characters. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a friend download a fully playable multiplayer version of Halo Wars 2 and try it out with you in a real game? This way the community could show additional people why this game is worth their attention. The current demo doesn't accomplish this as Blitz may be fun but is not what many people would want to see from an "RTS" style game.

Am I the only one that thinks there is a big missed opportunity here?

Morpheus183 wrote:

It seems like Halo Wars 2 would do very well as a Free-To-Play title. Now I am not talking about giving away the game with no ability to make money. Take a look at the model for Killer Instinct. This game is based around the idea that everyone can play but many of the characters are locked behind some type of payment wall or cycle on a regular basis. As more people are exposed to the game and find characters that they enjoy then they can purchase the specific content. The game is also sold in "editions" that contain different amounts of packaged characters. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a friend download a fully playable multiplayer version of Halo Wars 2 and try it out with you in a real game? This way the community could show additional people why this game is worth their attention. The current demo doesn't accomplish this as Blitz may be fun but is not what many people would want to see from an "RTS" style game.

Am I the only one that thinks there is a big missed opportunity here?

Then we would be ripped off as we payed or something of us payed 60$ at launch or near launch also it’s not free as you still have to pay to get access to the game is you use the game pass

I was not suggesting that people who paid for the game be required to pay even more. My thought was that instead of an isolated demo there should be a version of the game that has only a single playable character (or a rotating character) that would allow people to play with friends. With 16 leaders there would be plenty of incentive for people to purchase their favorites for several dollars each or they could buy a full version. I think Halo Wars 2 is best experienced with friends in its deathmatch mode. Even though game pass is a great service, it still requires purchase before seeing what this title is about. Perhaps an easier implementation is just to have a better feature set in the demo to show off the game types that are enjoyed the most by the community.

Blitz mode should be F2P since it already uses the pay per pack card system... lock all the leaders not included with vanilla and just have people purchase blitz card packs or slowly grind through daily and weekly challenges for "free packs"... additional leaders could be purchased separately at a value still acceptable to the publisher but attractive to consumers...

The reason I suggest this is because it seems like blitz matchmaking takes longer than any other mode (suggesting it's the least popular with active players)... making just the blitz mode free will always ensure a good supply of players... as it stands, blitz mode is likely to die, I actually enjoy it immensely, but waiting so long to get into a round makes me opt instead for other modes like deathmatch where I have no problem getting in a game... I can't be the only one getting tired of this wait... decreasing player numbers further. When the rounds last only 3-6 minutes and I'm constantly waiting 5 or more minutes just to start one of them... frustration is guaranteed.... the whole point of this mode was that it was meant to be "quick"... matchmaking being so slow makes nothing quick about it anymore.

I understand keeping the remaining modes as well as the single player campaign locked without a full purchase or through the GamePass, but blitz mode needs F2P in order to remain playable even for PAYING customers of the Full Version Game.

This game is not compatible with free to play on any level. With Blitz, you gain cards by completing dailies and weeklies and the leader base is very small. You cant limit enough for a free version without the title becoming unavailable. This game would never be successful without upfront payment.

This would be the biggest slap in the face for me as back then in March halo wars 2 cost 60 dollars sure it’s cheaper right now but not when I first picked it up

YellowMallard73 wrote:

This would be the biggest slap in the face for me as back then in March halo wars 2 cost 60 dollars sure it’s cheaper right now but not when I first picked it up

Yeah! I’ve spent about $90 on this game, sure a ‘free to play mode’ that only allowed you to play against AI and you had only Atriox and Cutter would be fine, but anything else would just be a huge middle finger to the people who spent loads of money on this game.

Morpheus183 wrote:

It seems like Halo Wars 2 would do very well as a Free-To-Play title. Now I am not talking about giving away the game with no ability to make money. Take a look at the model for Killer Instinct. This game is based around the idea that everyone can play but many of the characters are locked behind some type of payment wall or cycle on a regular basis. As more people are exposed to the game and find characters that they enjoy then they can purchase the specific content. The game is also sold in "editions" that contain different amounts of packaged characters. Wouldn't it be great if you could have a friend download a fully playable multiplayer version of Halo Wars 2 and try it out with you in a real game? This way the community could show additional people why this game is worth their attention. The current demo doesn't accomplish this as Blitz may be fun but is not what many people would want to see from an "RTS" style game.

Am I the only one that thinks there is a big missed opportunity here?

There is a demo available in case people don’t like the game and hw2 becoming free isn’t a missed opportunity

I actually loathe that this game is a full $60 title with the amount of leaders that are locked behind dlc and blitz packs are straight up insulting. This game already has a F2P model w/ a $60 price tag on it that kills the population. I'm fairly sure if it was free they'd make more money than they do now...