Kakao Games Announces Subscription Model For ArcheAge: Unchained

Is it the final chance for the fantasy MMORPG to make good with players?

By Jason Winter, News Editor November 18, 2021

ArcheAge Unchained Ice

ArcheAge will soon be under new management, as XLGames' MMORPG switches publishers from gamigo to Kakao Games in December. Also new will be ArcheAge: Unchained's monetization, as the pay-to-play version of the free-to-play ArcheAge will be getting a subscription, plans for which were outlined by Kakao today.

That subscription will cost $9.99 per month, with discounts applied for three- and six-month purchases. Purchasers of the original game or DLCs will receive up to 150 days' of subscription time, and new purchasers will receive 30 days of subscription time. Further DLCs will not carry an additional cost.

The Patron system will automatically be applied to every subscriber. The premium ArchePass will be free during the first month of service and will cost 500 Loyalty Tokens for every month thereafter. You will receive 20 Loyalty Tokens for free for your first login every day; they can no longer be purchased. Manastorm Crystals will "effectively" replace Diligence Coins and be earned through the Premium ArchePass.

As expected, Kakao said that "any paid items will be purely cosmetic." Granted, the game will soon be under new management, and people seem generally pleased with how Black Desert Online goes about its business, but it's going to be hard for anyone, ArcheAge player or no, to take that promise at face value considering the game's tumultuous and controversial history -- which even included a long-running lawsuit.

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In this article: ArcheAge, Gamigo, Black Desert Online, Kakao Games, ArcheAge: Unchained.

About the Author

Jason Winter, News Editor
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.

unhappycamper 1 year ago

This is total garbage. Kakao owns 53% of XL. XL already got their money when we PURCHASED Unchained and they promised no more pay to play. No subs, nothing. This is not like it is going to a new company that now wants to take their cash grab. This is an additional cash grab after many many promises. First they promised no merges. We merged. They promised no cost for dlc. We were charged. They promised if we flat out bought AAU we would not have to pay to play ever again. It was ours and we were good to go. Now this. Again, this is XL making yet another greedy grab for cash. It is sick. Their excuse to 'keep it from being pay to win' is total garbage. Um, you control that and there was not supposed to be pay to win in Unchained ever. You don't have to make it a sub to do that. That is just being greedy as per usual. It is what they do to their players every couple of years. We, as players and consumers, need to deny them that until they change and honor their word or better yet, go out of business.

Flintstone 1 year ago

Gaming is getting worse than stock companies they got clauses for everything and covering there steponyoufootprints with a sparkle here and sparkle there.
We must be way too easy meat today. They become like birds of prey .
we are trying run but their too big. lol