The Asymmetrical monster hunter game Evolve has finally gone free to play . The game was near dead so this might give it a new lease on life. Existing owners of Evolve will get Founders Status with the promise of “gifts and rewards” in the future and will retain access to owned content.
Evolve was recently removed from Steam and the appearance of a mysterious counter on their website led many to speculate the game is going F2P . Turns out the speculations were correct. Studio founder Chris Aston announced that the beta will go live on July 7 or 8th, allowing time to iron out bugs over the subsequent weeks and months.
The studio is making a series of improvements to the game. Now, experienced trapper and medic players won’t be as essential as they were. Maps and UI are also being tweaked, more customization options will be available, and the game’s progression system and tutorials are being completed revamped. Performance and loading times are being seen to as well.
Ashton also said that while the original version of the game was highly awaited, it failed to have the impact the team expected. “We worked on it for years and then, suddenly, people got to experience our game, controller in-hand, There was genuine excitement – real joy – when people played. It was like nothing they’d ever played before and watching it happen was like no high we ever felt.” He also touched the issue of the Season Pass and how it led to the failure of the game . “When Evolve launched, the reception wasn’t what we expected,” he continued. “Sure, there were some good reviews. There were also bad reviews. Yes, there was excitement. There was also disappointment – for players and for us. The DLC shitstorm hit full force and washed away people’s enthusiasm, dragging us further and further from that first magical pick-up-and-play experience.”
There’s no word on how the studio plans on making money from the free to play version but as of now things look positive and the beta is surely worth giving a try.
