Jeff Kaplan saw Overwatch transition to a free-to-play model, so when he talks about what it takes to make such a concept succeed, you’d best believe he knows what he’s talking about. In a recent super-sized stream, Kaplan was playing his new game, The Legend of California, and he was asked if the game would be free to play at launch.
With a tone that was joking, but bordering on being serious, Kaplan explained what you need to make free-to-play games a success, and it involves having ‘billions of players’.
‘That’s Not Us’
The Legend of California has been turning heads recently, emerging as a solid-looking open-world action-survival game with arcade-based Red Dead Redemption vibes. It’s a far cry from Overwatch, which is what Jeff Kaplan is perhaps best known for.
Many have dubbed it ‘Rust but Wild West’, and it’s easy to see why.
Kaplan is leading the charge on The Legend of California, and he recently appeared on a ten-hour stream playing the game and answering questions. One popped up about the game’s intended monetization model and whether it would be free-to-play, to which Kaplan answered:
In game cash… I have no idea. I don’t know what the business model is.
I don’t think we’re going to be free-to-play. To be free-to-play, you need like eight billion players and two thousand devs cranking out f***ing keychains like a sweatshop.
That’s not us, we’re not going to be able to support the game on free-to-play. I’d be happy to be proven wrong on that.
I want to do something simple.
(Credit to Majid Manzarpour)
Kaplan went on to explain that you unlock ‘stuff’ (meaning cosmetics and customization options) by just playing the game, which is the way most players would have it, if they could.
All this was captured during the same stream in which Kaplan made a bold suggestion. He recommended that folks bagging on games they had no intention of playing should ‘shut the f*** up.’
The Legend of California looks great, but it’s in its early days. The team at Kintsugiyama numbers just 34, and it’s a rudimentary setup that’s evolving alongside the game.
Do you think The Legend of California looks like your kind of game? Let us know what you think on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Jeff really can’t say out of the news and actually work on his game.
Can’t wait for his Rust clone to fail so he can blame everyone.