WildStar goes pay-to-play and play-to-pay

Sci-fi MMO WildStar will be subscription-based when it launches in spring of 2014, as announced by developer Carbine Studios today.

Thirty days of free game time will be provided upon purchase of WildStar via retail or digital download, as well as three guest passes for friends. Upon activating, players can choose to pay for a subscription starting at $14.99 per month; or spend in-game currency to purchase C.R.E.D.D. from other players instead.

C.R.E.D.D. (Certificate of Research, Exploration, Destruction and Development)  can be redeemed for game time and sold between players over the in-game Commodities Exchange. C.R.E.D.D. will allow players to completely bypass the subscription cost, and its own cost will be established by the community. It can also be purchased for real money at the game’s official website.

Executive producer at Carbine Studios, Jeremy Gaffney, expressed the developer’s his for the business model.

“Gamers have strong opinions when it comes to business models and monetisation in MMO games. In combining a classic subscription model with C.R.E.D.D. we think we’ve struck a good balance. We definitely want to support players who appreciate the value of high-quality subscription-style game. Meanwhile, C.R.E.D.D. gives gamers who don’t like monthly subs the option to just play to pay and enjoy the same content”.