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Elden Ring is getting a free-to-play mobile version with in-app purchases

Action-RPG colossus Elden Ring is reportedly getting a free-to-play mobile adaptation with in-app purchases, which takes inspiration from miHoYo’s Genshin Impact. It’s being published by Tencent, who apparently acquired the licensing rights to Elden Ring back in 2022 and put a few dozen people to work on a prototype, even as the company acquired a 16% stake in Elden Ring developer From Software.

Jorgelino ,

I just threw up in my mouth a little

AlexisFR ,
@AlexisFR@jlai.lu avatar

Did they ate the Hard Drive?

kaiomai ,

I am very excited to not play this game.

littlebluespark ,
@littlebluespark@lemmy.world avatar

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    Asafum ,

    Action RPG is a genre, it absolutely exists. It’s usually referred to as ARPG. Granblue Fantasy Relink could be considered an ARPG.

    abbenm ,

    Uh?? Is War & Peace not literary fiction? Also I think Diablo, arguably the most famous RPG game (for better or worse), is an action RPG.

    AgentGrimstone ,

    I actually just ordered a physical copy the other day, I’m finally in the mood to play it. I was surprised it was $50 but still, NO RAGRETS.

    TIMMAY ,

    I mean I also want cheaper games but if gtav and skyrim still sell for upwards of $40 or $50 then elden ring should be at least that much lol

    AgentGrimstone ,

    Yeah, I don’t mind it for Elden Ring. Souls games have their way of getting me to do back to back playthroughs, something I rarely do with most games, so I know I’m going to get my money’s worth.

    squirrelwithnut ,

    notlikethis.gif

    FROM’s and Elden Ring’s good names will be forever tarnished with this bullshit. Even if, and it’s a big if, this turns out to be a decent port it still feels really, really gross. This is really disappointing.

    Cold_Brew_Enema ,

    Should call it Elden Ring Ring Ring

    peter ,
    @peter@feddit.uk avatar

    Banana phone

    FluffyPotato ,

    My first instinct was to check if this was an Onion article…

    I definitely didn’t have Elden Ring gets a gotcha game on mobile on my 2024 bingo card.

    Rai ,

    I still don’t believe it’s not an Onion article. Absolutely daft.

    LaGG_3 ,
    @LaGG_3@hexbear.net avatar

    I guess it’s cool that some people may be able to play the game when they wouldn’t otherwise, but yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being shit.

    ZeroHora ,
    @ZeroHora@lemmy.ml avatar

    I doubt is Elden Ring actually, probably is just the IP name with some of the assets toss over in a simplified version.

    LaGG_3 ,
    @LaGG_3@hexbear.net avatar

    Yeah, and not even a simplified version like the Final Fantasy 15 for the Nintendo Switch. Probably just going to be a half assed thing.

    ceenote ,

    You know there are people at tencent unironically thinking “People were happy with how unmonetized Elden Ring was. How can we monetize that satisfaction?”

    Cowbee ,
    @Cowbee@lemmy.ml avatar

    Usually, the devs aren’t thinking that, management is and that’s what’s shoveled downward. Still people at tencent, but I imagine it’s not everyone ludicrously evil.

    ceenote ,

    Still, this is a reminder not to get too attached to any particular developer. Doesn’t matter how sincerely dedicated to producing fun and satisfying experiences From is: when Tencent talks, they have to listen.

    Ledivin ,

    Sad to see From licensing their good name to someone like Tencent. Be prepared to see some predatory shovelware

    darkghosthunter ,

    IMTX can be fair if these don’t abuse the players time, and offer fun content. You’re paying the game for free, mind you.

    Tencent already had invested in From Software. They want to see returns, and this is how.

    the_q ,

    I disagree. Just you saying mtx can be fair is proof that younger gamers are just used to them being in the game. They shouldn’t exist. Period.

    SchmidtGenetics ,

    Why did you assume they are young?

    Servers cost money, adding content costs money, if you want something for free, who’s paying these costs? Because if it’s the business, they won’t be in business very long if they just spend money and have nothing coming back in.

    I say this as a person in their 30s, age is irrelevant here.

    the_q ,

    FFVII for PS1 didn’t need a server. There were no mtx or post to social media buttons or pay walled content crap, just a game you paid for and played. It didn’t need to always be online or require a secondary launcher.

    Fast-forward and here we are with profitability being the most important aspect of gaming. Sucking every tiny bit of money and attention away from competing games that do the same thing. Character licensing fees and in game ads literally everywhere. Single player experiences requiring online components so that even though you aren’t directly participating in the mtx system the companies you buy from are still mining your usage data and selling it off to third parties. Mtx and ads and all that are just how gaming is now. Younger adult gamers have a pretty big role in his this had turned out. Instead of saying no to these types of games, they were just like ‘meh I like posting $5 for horse armor…’ and that’s all it took.

    Downvote away. I’m right though.

    SchmidtGenetics ,

    The key difference being you paid for the game…. This is a free game… totally different scenarios. So yes I will downvote you for completely missing the point of the discussion and ranting on about something totally irrelevant.

    How does a company keep paying for servers and content when they don’t charge for the game or anything else….? With proper MTXs….

    the_q ,

    I didn’t miss the point. You’re talking about free games that live on mtx and ads… That’s the problem. There shouldn’t be games that function that way, and the fact that you’re using that as some gotcha talking point just proves how normalized they are. They’re predatory.

    SchmidtGenetics ,

    It’s another unrelated market, mobile games can’t charge $80 for a game. People don’t even like paying $10. That style of developing is barely affordable nowadays as well for pc/console anyways, but that’s another argument and not relevant to this one.

    You are comparing apples to oranges. And there’s nothing predatory when it’s done correctly, but there’s also some people who just see the devil in everything, lien you apparently.

    the_q ,

    Ok, bud.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    Addressing only your first paragraph, the comparison is a bit silly. FF7 didn't have any online features. Elden Ring does.

    Your rant or point is hard to take seriously when it eschews any kind of nuance and comes off as "old man yells at cloud".

    the_q ,

    It’s hard to take seriously because people don’t like their hobbies and interests being scrutinized.

    I’m not going to argue about this anymore. It’s one of those things where the hobby I used to enjoy is no longer for me. It’s for you kids to buy your V Bucks and season passes at an ever increasing price. Let the publishers know you love giving them more and more money for beta software wrapped in a new Peter Griffin skin!

    SchmidtGenetics ,

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    the_q ,

    I didn’t choose it and neither did you. You had this forced on you and you were like “yes, daddy more” because people don’t have the stones to say no with their wallets. You won’t give up your Diablo IV Season Pass trinket pack with 666 Devil Coins and a new Overwatch “Dablo” skin for Moira. You’re out of your depth.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    Lol, I am very critical of my hobbies, especially the companies that produce my hobbies. That's not why your comment is hard to take seriously.

    Also, who is "you kids"? I'm in my thirties and don't buy mtx.

    the_q ,

    Alright, adult.

    Gamoc ,

    Listen if you want to piss away money on transient shit you are welcome to go and do it, but the person missing the nuances here is you. The industry moving towards these models is negatively affecting gaming as a whole and it’ll only get worse, even if you’re too blinded by tacky skins to notice the reason why.

    SchmidtGenetics ,

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    conciselyverbose ,

    This is a lie not even loosely connected to reality.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    My guy, I wasn't even trying to make a defense of micro transactions, I was pointing out the really weird comparison of a PS1 game from 1997 with no baked in online features, and a modern game with baked in online features.

    FluffyPotato ,

    Elden Ring doesn’t use a server, it’s peer to peer.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    Player connections are peer to peer, but a server is absolutely still involved in match making and serving up player messages.

    FluffyPotato ,

    Matchmaking is also peer to peer as far as anyone knows but I can’t find any info on how messages are handled. It’s entirely possible those also work on their peer to peer system but even if not a server that serves short text snippets with coordinates to all these players could be run on 20 year old hardware so not even costly enough to register.

    iAmTheTot ,
    @iAmTheTot@kbin.social avatar

    They have literally taken down servers before for maintenance and the like.

    FluffyPotato ,

    Oh, yea, they have a verification server for shadowbans but it isn’t strictly necessary for matchmaking, if that verification process were removed you can still play. The seemless coop mod for example does that.

    jaycifer ,

    Saying you were 13/14 when horse armor came out doesn’t help your case arguing against their comment. It just means you were prime gaming age when dlc, map packs, and smaller content were replacing larger expansions. The acceptance of those (which based on your demographic you probably did accept) made it easier to transition to more and more egregious micro transactions.

    There used to be (maybe still are) complete games released on mobile. They usually cost $6.99 and didn’t need more. If they want Elden Ring on mobile without tarnishing its reputation, they could sell a complete experience for $10 or $15 since it’s been a decade since those $6.99 prices. That’s what Elden Ring was and it was widely praised. That’s what the rest of their games have done and that has turned out well for them.

    There may be servers for the multiplayer, but based on the fact none of the other From Soft games charged for it the cost must be minimal.

    conciselyverbose ,

    Who said they want shit for free?

    Buying the apps isn't possible because this malicious extortionate bullshit makes them more money.

    Poggervania ,
    @Poggervania@kbin.social avatar

    When you’re so old you forget expansion packs existed before DLC and MTX

    the_q ,

    When you’re so young you forget that it wasn’t required to complete the game, it was a one time purchase and it often came with some sweet swag.

    SchmidtGenetics ,

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    the_q ,

    I’m sorry that you just take what Papa Activison says you have to take. Poor guy.

    SweatyFireBalls ,

    No, they aren’t. DLC is an expansion upon the content. The best case scenario for mtx that do not affect gameplay are cosmetic only.

    If a game in any way has anything else than cosmetic mtx, the game is worse.

    “But you don’t have to buy it!” Is how I often see them defended, the subtext being that, if I don’t buy them it doesn’t affect my experience.

    Here is the secret, games with mtx are designed to have problems and they sell you the solution. They are designed WORSE intentionally, so you will spend money to bypass the inconveniences. Often your time.

    A perfect example is something like long standing games selling boosts to max level. They’re aware the old content is dead, and they’re aware the only people playing it are the people who don’t want to spend money. Why don’t they fix that?

    The answer is they did, they decided that inconvenience was acceptable in their game in order to convince the player to spend money.

    MTX is not content, often it’s used to bypass content or save time. DLC is content. DLC often expands upon the experience of the game. MTX worsens the experience of the game just buy existing. Dlc doesn’t change your experience if you don’t purchase or use it. MTX changes the game at a base level no matter if you spend money or not.

    De_Narm ,

    I feel like it’s just wrong to call these games ‘free’. They are ‘partially free’ with the incentive to extract as much money from you as possible in order to get the ‘good stuff’ or simply to avoid endless hours of unfun grinding. It’s just inferior in every way compared to games you pay for once and that’s it, because they don’t need to drip feed you ‘fun’.

    Exceptions apply to competitive games that need a changing meta and content updates. New content for non-competitve ‘free’ games mostly amounts to new stuff you can buy to surpass new arbitrary walls built in front of you.

    FMT99 ,

    Free (as in beer) is never free

    SuperSpecialNickname ,

    Take a look at the free to play market on mobile and you’ll see why people don’t like the news.

    Ledivin ,

    IMTX can be fair if these don’t abuse the players time, and offer fun content.

    IMTX and not wasting players time are nearly mutually-exclusive. These games are designed with the MTX in mind at every single step of the process, and are made with the sole intent of maximizing MTX sales. Them wasting your time is not a mistake, but an intentional (and meticulously-researched and -designed) feature.

    There are exceptions, yes, of course, but they are few and far between.

    Fleur__ ,
    @Fleur__@lemmy.world avatar

    Who cares just don’t play it?

    bisby ,

    These sorts of decisions can impact future decisions. It is to early to say that this is a trend, so people shouldn’t get all up in arms over things. But still, using other company histories as a basis, it is concerning about where this could end up.

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