Free-to-play model risks 'hindering' great gameplay, warns Call of Duty man Bowling
But can pay off 'in the long term'
Former creative strategist on Call of Duty turned mobile developer Robert Bowling has expressed concern about the use of the free-to-play model in mobile games.
In an interview with PocketGamer.biz focused on his drop the free-to-play model from his own release Breach & Clear, Bowling claimed F2P elements end up "competing" with the developer's desire to create compelling gameplay.
Profit or quality?"If our aim was 'let's go for the most profitable model we can with the game', I would suggest we would probably use the free-to-play model," detailed Bowling on Breach & Clear.
"Because you're going to get a lot more users in the door, and a lot more ability to monetise that userbase.
"But we would have had to make certain sacrifices in favour of that profit that would have hindered a better gameplay experience."
Breach & Clear
However, Bowling added that free-to-play can come to benefit gameplay design "in the long term".
Don't force it"I think the free-to-play model is a great model, and the game experience that you're going for really has to fit that model," added Bowling.
"There's no way to force it. What we had to do was we had to make the decision to either try and force it down the free-to-play path, or fall back on making a really solid premium game.
"I think if you don't force it, and it really fits with the type of experience you're going for, it has been proven that it can be wildly more successful than a premium game."
You can read the interview in full here.