Boss Key abandons free-to-play model for LawBreakers

LawBreakers, the next game from Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski, has dropped its free-to-play business model.

Speaking at GDC, Bleszinski revealed that the first game from his new studio Boss Key Productions would instead adopt a traditional pay-to-play release – although, he added, it won’t cost $60/£40.

"As the game continued to take shape, we realised free-to-play wasn’t the right fit for what we’re building," he explained.

"LawBreakers is a competitive game at heart and that means balance is a big priority to me, my team, and our community.

“Using a digital premium model helps ensure an even playing field by giving fans access to every available role without any barriers."

Bleszinski added that the developer would overhaul the PC title’s visuals with a more down-to-earth appearance, in an effort to differentiate itself from upcoming cartoonish shooters such as Gearbox’s Battleborn and Blizzard’s Overwatch.

"Being constantly compared to the current slew of colourful shooters on the market made us realise we needed to stand out from the crowd," he said.

"We decided to take a step back and explore how we could dial up the maturity in LawBreakers, going back to our original vision. The new look and feel embraces the innovative and vertical nature of our game elevated by violence, intensity and competition."