Roughly one year ago, it seemed that there might still be hope for the subscription model for MMOs. Ten years ago people would have called me an idiot for even suggesting that free-to-play games could or would ever succeed in North America, but here we all are. While the rest of the software world is turning to subscription services, the subscription model for MMOs is on the verge of pulling its final dinosaur act.

One year ago, I was convinced that Carbine Studios could make the subscription model work for WildStar. Even though the majority use case of established MMO gamers had largely turned its back on the same model that served them so well over the years, I still saw the potential. I looked around at all the services I had been used to purchasing for large licensing fees that were lining up like good soldiers to adopt a subscription model, not to mention the fact that World of Warcraft players were still quite content to hand over a service fee to Blizzard a decade after the game’s pop culture explosion.

At this point, we’re subscribing to everything from Microsoft Office to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. The once prohibitive license fees for Unreal Engine have vanished, and major online publications are quickly turning to membership services in the wake of the bottom falling out of traditional advertising revenue for non-video content.

As we learned first-hand last month during a trip to Santa Monica to meet up with the team from Carbine Studios, the idea of MMOs as a membership-based service is truly a thing of the past. While WildStar hasn’t pulled the trigger on its free-to-play conversion just yet, we’re only months away from the end of an era for MMOs.

Mysterious Mysteries of Strange Mystery

Naturally, the announcement of WildStar’s transition to a free-to-play title raised plenty of questions. Much like Dib in the Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom episode of Invader Zim, I found myself projecting into the future to ponder the probable outcomes for WildStar post-conversion. While there is plenty of potential for the game to experience a form of rebirth due to removing one of the first major barriers for entry, it was also readily apparent that there is more to the story beyond simply tossing some costumes and consumables in a cash shop.

Don’t get me wrong; keeping things simple has worked out incredibly well for plenty of free-to-play MMOs over the past few years. And you should never underestimate the desirability of cosmetic items in online games. Log into Guild Wars 2 on any given day and you’ll find hundreds of characters decked out in cosmetic gear purchased with gems as just one example. In that particular game, I’ve personally spent a nutty amount back when I was obsessed with completing my collection of Dreamthistle weapon skins.

Heading into E3 2015, Carbine understood that there would be plenty of questions surrounding the free-to-play conversion for WildStar. Meeting up with Product Director Mike Donatelli during the event was both enlightening and, perhaps even more importantly, reassuring that Carbine would be doing right by its current community, while also implementing new improvements and enhancements that will no doubt help it grow.

To kick things off, Mike walked me through some of the upcoming changes to the new player experience, and how those changes will help set the stage for one of the studio’s other major announcements. Specifically, WildStar will be launching in China, greatly expanding its global audience in the process. 

For the new player experience, there will be three points of entry available depending on your level of experience with MMO games overall. The current intro does a decent job of introducing you to the world of WildStar, but largely overlooks the notion that teaching players the importance of dodging and spatial awareness early on is paramount to survivability later on. That in mind, players will have the option to learn the absolute basics of core MMO gameplay, or can opt for a streamlined version of the current Arkship experience. Veteran players will be able to skip past the tutorial phase completely and dive right into combat instead.

Above: A window into the upcoming pre-tutorial zone

Accessibility may be king in MMOs, but it will only take you so far. Once you have players immersed in your game, treating them well and keeping them happy ultimately trumps the accessibility stage which only lasts a fraction of the overall time spent playing.

To address this, Mike explained that a new reward system would be implemented that enables players to earn reward points in a number of different ways. This will be somewhat similar to the system being implemented in Blade & Soul that we outlined earlier this week. Since the two games are structured quite a bit differently, however, the rewards system for WildStar will naturally factor in elements specific to that game.

For starters, reward points in WildStar will be earned retroactively, so players who have been supporting the game from the start will have a number of rewards waiting for them when the system is implemented. Points can otherwise be earned by purchasing or spending NCoin, enrolling in the Signature Plan or redeeming C.R.E.D.D.

Above: The Immortal Miner Hat, one of the Loyalty Rewards coming to WildStar

OMG! Need More Moxie! Wait… what?

Another aspect of WildStar being streamlined are its attributes. Ever since getting my first hands-on time with the game years ago, I’ve always squinted at how attributes are handled, so am elated that this part of the game is getting some much needed attention. This does mean a lot of work for Carbine, as literally every item in the game needs to be revised to account for the new system.

For those of you wondering why the conversion to free-to-play isn’t an overnight process, this is one of the many reasons why. As Mike explained, this kind of overhaul was far from an easy undertaking, and the team is just wrapping up what turned out to be a roughly 6-month project.

With the new system, current primary stats like brutality and finesse are being replaced with four new primary stats: assault power, support power, health and armor. These new stats will make things much easier to understand, and help make WildStar a bit more welcoming to gamers who may be migrating from other established MMOs.

This change is very welcome in my books, and will help remove some of the funkiness of things like different classes needing to boost different primary stats to influence the same secondary. On that note, secondary stats are also being expanded and improved, again with that goal of keeping itemization a bit more intuitive and easier to manage for players. For example, with Vigor maxed out, you’ll be able to cap out your health which will in turn help you cause more damage during combat.

Gremlins, Accessibility and Social Play

I made a note above of the notion that accessibility is king in MMOs. Public restrooms are also largely accessible, but most of us only want to use them when absolutely necessary. The sad reality of MMOs is that the doors might initially be open, but once you step inside they’re about as welcoming and enjoyable as a social experience as the restroom at your local convenience store.

If an MMO doesn’t factor in social play early on, you’re basically crossing out the second M in MMO and are left with a MOGWAI; a Massive Online Game with Artificial Intelligence. When that’s the case, it’s no wonder so many MMOs horribly misfire in the social department, just like getting one of those furry Mogwai bastards wet and feeding it after midnight.

Carbine also intends to address this particular issue in a couple of interesting ways.

First up, the current roster of dungeons will be rescaled to open up in five-level increments, effectively allowing you to level primarily through dungeons from level 15 on up. Not only does this help introduce players to proper social play at a relatively early level, but it also means you can play socially throughout the game rather than hitting that bait-and-switch moment waiting for you at the endgame of nearly every MMO on the market.

Following the initial fall transition, a new player community feature will also be coming to WildStar. You know those giant floating housing plots that would be so cool to dock together with your friends? Communities will enable you to do exactly that, with up to five players being able to combine their housing plots into one massive cooperative commune. This is a feature I’ve wanted to see since first learning about housing plots from my local Protostar representative, and I’m guessing WildStar players will be just as stoked that it is finally coming to the game.

Future Perfect

It should be readily apparent by now that WildStar will have undergone a radical transformation that extends far beyond its business model by the time the transition goes live this fall. Until recently, I had assumed that the new Guild Wars 2 expansion would be the main attraction for MMO gamers later this year, but I’m beginning to think that if Carbine plays its cards right, WildStar could just as easily claim the top billing in the cosmic opera of major MMOs worth playing in the latter part of 2015.