Jeff Kaplan, known for helping build Overwatch and watching it move to free-to-play, has opinions about what makes free-to-play actually work. While streaming his new game The Legend of California, he was asked if the title will launch as free-to-play. His short answer was a mix of joke and reality check.
Free-to-play is not a small-team hobby
The Legend of California is shaping up as an open-world action survival game with clear Wild West energy. Some people have been calling it "Rust but Wild West," which captures the rough idea. Kaplan is leading development at Kintsugiyama, a compact studio with just 34 people.
Why Kaplan says free-to-play is a different beast
When asked about business model plans, Kaplan said he does not expect the game to be free-to-play. He explained that to sustain a free-to-play game you need enormous player numbers and constant content output. In his words, you need about "eight billion players" and thousands of developers churning out small items like keychains to keep the machine running. He added that Kintsugiyama is not set up to do that, though he would be happy to be proven wrong.
Kaplan also said players will unlock cosmetics and customization by playing the game, which is a preference many players share.
Also, mind your keyboard
On the same stream Kaplan pushed back at people who criticize games they do not plan to play. His message to those commenters was blunt and to the point.
The Legend of California looks visually promising but it is still early. Kaplan and his small team are building the game in public, and their plan right now is to keep systems simple rather than try to run a massive free-to-play economy.
Whether that approach will win over players remains to be seen. For now the core facts are clear: the game aims for unlocks through play, the studio is small, and Kaplan does not expect to launch it as a typical free-to-play product.
