Daum Games has just announced that they will be bringing Black Desert Online to North America and Europe as a buy-to-play title. Love it or hate it, the B2P model has done well in the western market - with Guild Wars 2 as an excellent example.

Many believe that B2P models also greatly reduce the accessibility for non-invested parties and serves as a steep penalty price for accounts likely to get banned (such as toxic players, gold-farming bots, and others like them).

On the other side of the coin...

Entering the market as a buy-in experience might keep a lot of potential players from ever trying it. With so many free-to-play titles out there (and many more converting over), buy-to-play titles have to really stand out to warrant a purchase.

It should be interesting to see how the Western MMORPG market responds to this news (and ultimately to the game's release early next year). In the modern era of YouTube "Let's Play"s and an insurgence in real-time game streaming - it might not be too hard for Black Desert Online to show enough of itself to invite players into a healthy purchase.

Every monetization model has its benefits and drawbacks - and I find B2P models like GW2 and now BDO to have one simple benefit that significantly outweighs any negatives: no headache, in-game or out. There's just something to be said about not having to worry about an annoying cash shop (or how you can compete with those participating in one). Additionally, not having to worry about recurring fees piling up for a title you may end up enjoying for months to come is pretty awesome too.

For more details about this announcement, check out the official press release on Black Desert Online's website.

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