After nearly shutting down last month, Icarus Studios has opened an online store inside Fallen Earth.
Fallen Earth has received fairly mixed reviews since its release in September, with some critics praising its concept and writing while others have panned its graphics and numerous bugs. This was perhaps a driving force behind the recent mass-layoffs at developer Icarus Studios. Icarus has now has opened an online store where players can buy in-game content, presumably to bring in a little extra cash to help the company get by.
The online store currently only features two items at the moment. First up is the Kaibab Cur pet ($10 USD), which has four item slots for players to utilize. Second on the list is a set of brass goggles ($5 USD), giving players the opportunity to look like steampunk mad scientists or wasteland badasses. Apparently the goggles give players a boost in protection against piercing, fire, cold and ballistic damage. At the moment, players can only buy one of each item per account.
A few months ago, North Carolina-based Icarus Studios laid off a large number of employees from within its ranks due to “corporate restructuring.” As a result, it’s not surprising that the company is trying to generate some extra revenue via microtransactions that are equal to a month’s worth of subscription fees.
Microtransactions are clearly an easy way to generate money, based on the success of so many “free-to-play” MMOGs across the Web these days. I’m not exactly a fan of buying extra advantages in a game that I’ve already paid money for, but, hey, if developers have online stores and players are willing to shop there, more power to everyone involved.
Source: Massively
Published: Jun 11, 2010 07:15 pm