Crytek is a developer associated with high-end shooters — beautiful games like Crysis — and game engines known for the gorgeous visuals they’re capable of making possible. After spending its early days as a developer of PC exclusives, it decided to go multiplatform in 2008 as a result of it “suffering” from piracy. Once Crytek finishes up with the current slate of games it has in the works, including Ryse for Xbox 360 and Crysis 3 for 360, PS3, and PC, it will be shifting to a model that doesn’t fit on consoles, at least as we currently know them: free to play.
To some gamers, that description is one worthy of bemoaning. Free-to-play games are associated by some with games which either contain the same level of interactivity seen in FarmVille or offer unfair advantages to players willing to fork over money for boosts and better items. While the model may have once upon a time been one which automatically designated a game as unworthy of core gamers’ attention, that is no longer the case. Quality games have adopted the model or been built around it. League of Legends and now Dota 2 show how well free-to-play DotA-style games can work. Even after converting to free to play, Team Fortress 2 remains one of the best multiplayer shooters on the market, and it received better post-launch support — all of it free — in its fourth year than many games do in their first. Numerous MMOs, like Lord of the Rings Online, have found far more success as free-to-play titles than they did when they carried subscriptions. And the recently launched Tribes Ascend is a great deal of fun without ever spending a dime.
