PlanetSide Arena Launches Into Early Access Today -- As A Free-to-Play Game

Jason Winter
By Jason Winter, News Editor Posted:
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Well, this came out of semi-nowhere. We'd all been a little skeptical of PlanetSide Arena's plan to launch with a fixed price, predicting that it would go free-to-play at some point after launch.

We were wrong. It's going free to play at launch.

Technically, PlanetSide Arena is just in early access, as of today, but that's effectively the same thing as launch when you're talking about a free-to-play game, which Arena apparently is.

The game's Steam page and FAQ confirm the free-to-play news, and it's not just a temporary measure lasting until the game is launched: "There is currently no plan to change pricing after Early Access." That launch is scheduled for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in Q2 2020.

Of course, plans can change, as they obviously have a few times for PlanetSide Arena, but for now, you can jump in and play the game for free, or pick up either the Recruit Edition for $19.99 or the Legendary Edition for $49.99 -- or both for $69.98. The editions come with 80 or 200 "NS-0 Standard Crates," respectively, a.k.a. loot boxes, which can contain "cosmetic items (weapons, armor, and vehicle skins) and mods, which offer situational perks and utility bonuses when equipped to weapons or armor."

It's that last bit that sounds a little concerning. While the loot boxes can be earned through gameplay and they do not affect time to kill (as stressed in the FAQ), offering game-affecting items in them is a bit of a slippery slope that Daybreak will need to be exceedingly careful about. Based on its many delays and its sudden switch to F2P, PlanetSide Arena probably doesn't have a whole lot of room for error.

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About the Author

Jason Winter
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.

More Stories by Jason Winter

Discussion (4)

F0l2saken 4 years ago
I think there are 6 people playing it now, and the 7 year old planetside 2 literally has 200 more players right now than Arena in Arena's first day.

Now the question is, when is daybreak going to file for chapter 11.

rickshaw 4 years ago
That's cool

NarkCurse 4 years ago
Will be interesting to see if Planetside Arena last into the first Quarter of 2020, it''s just another BR. The markets just flooded with them at the moment. So why on earth do we need another one.
I predict Daybreak will end up saying "it wasn't fun" then shut it down. Like they did with Landmark, even though Landmark had huge potential.

Guza 4 years ago
Wow someone came to its senses lol


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