Xbox’s Towerborne is switching from a free-to-play game to a paid one
Rounda side-scrolling action RPG published by Xbox Game Studios and available in Early Access, will officially launch on February 26. But instead of launching as a free, always-on online game as originally planned, Round will instead be a paid game that you can play offline.
“You’ll own the full experience all the time, with offline play and online co-op,” Trisha Stouffer, CEO and President of Round developer Stoic, says in an Xbox Wire blog post. “This change has required a deep structural rebuild over the past year, transforming systems originally designed around constant connectivity. The result is a stronger, more accessible, and more player-friendly version of Towerborne – one we are incredibly proud to launch.”
“After listening to our community during early access and preview of the game, we learned that players wanted a complete, polished experience without ongoing monetization mechanisms,” according to an FAQ. “Moving to a premium model allows us to offer the full game from the start – no live service, no pay-to-win – just the best version of Round.”
With popular live service games like Fortnite And Roblox increasingly difficult to usurp, Towerborne moving to a premium, offline-playable experience could make it more appealing to players who don’t want to jump into another time-consuming game forever. This makes Round more appealing to me, at least.
With version 1.0 of the game, Round will have a “complete” story, new bosses and a “reworked” difficulty system. You will also be able to acquire all in-game cosmetics for free through the game, with “no more cosmetic purchases”. Players who are already in Early Access will still be able to play the game.
Round will launch on February 26 for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Game Pass, Steam and PS5. The standard edition will cost $24.99, while the deluxe edition will cost $29.99.
