Turtle Rock Studios is doing something a bit different from other studios out there: they're not going to charge for downloadable map content for their upcoming asymmetric, competitive multiplayer game, Evolve. Why? Because they don't want to break up the community or create disparity within the player-base.
VG 24/7 picked up the news from IGN, where creative director Phil Robb talked about the game and the DLC methods they have for the title, stating...
"First thing we [Evolve's creative leads] said was we can't break the community up, so all of our maps will be free. We never want anyone to get booted off of a server because they haven't bought something."
That's one of the biggest issues that plague a lot of multiplayer-focused games these days. Companies are so dead-set on making as much money as possible from their properties that fun and community growth are usually things put on the back-burner in order to focus on making money.
Turtle Rock Studios is doing something a bit different, insofar that it's a big-budget game but the community is being put front and center, mostly because Evolve is a multiplayer-oriented game and if they can't maintain their community then they don't have a product anymore.
According to Robb...
"We'll have characters and monsters, and even if you don't buy them, if your buddy wants to buy the DLC, that's cool, and your game will be enhanced through his purchase," ... "So, you won't be able to play as those characters, but you will certainly be able to play with those characters."
This is a neat way to handle things. Overkill Software did the same thing with Payday 2 – enabling players to still join games with those who purchased DLC that they didn't own. This was not only a great way to keep the community glued together but it also allowed players who didn't own the DLC to check it out the content. It's like free advertising.
It's rare for other publishers to allow that option to manifest in a game – players who don't own the DLC to play with those who do own the DLC – so it's nice to see Turtle Rock employing the option.
Whether or not this tactic will actually help Evolve move units on the Xbox One and PS4 is a whole other story. Right now there's still a lot of gamers who aren't entirely won over, myself included. I don't really see this as a “must-play” game, but I can understand the appeal of the whole asymmetric multiplayer element for people looking for a different way to challenge themselves in online play.
My major hold-up with the game is that I don't really see the long-term appeal. It reminds me of something you would play on a couple of weekends with friends and then maybe periodically play off and on a few months thereafter, like Left 4 Dead or Team Fortress 2, sans the farming and crafting. But that's just me.
Anyway, Evolve was pushed to February 10th, 2015 for the eighth generation home consoles and PC.
