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Bigpoint CEO: The Old Republic Won't Ever Be Profitable
When it came to discussing the ambitious massively multiplayer collaboration between BioWare, Electronic Arts, and LucasArts, Bigpoint CEO Heiko Hubertz didn't mince words.
During his keynote at the London Games Conference, Hubertz explained his skepticism regarding the upcoming Star Wars MMO, saying "A big publisher does not understand that a subscription model is not the future. With micro-transactions and longer lifetime, maybe I see a chance for this game, but I don't think that EA or BioWare will be profitable with this game. Ever."
These are strong words from a rival MMO developer, but they certainly shouldn't come as a surprise considering two of the MMOs Bigpoint has in development, Battlestar Galactica and The Mummy, adopt the free-to-play model. Many recent games like Lord of the Rings Online and Champions Online have switched to free-to-play after running into budget problems using the subscription model. Internet rumors pin the budget for Star Wars: The Old Republic anywhere between $100 million and $300 million.
Regardless of the budget, given the size of the rabid Star Wars fan base and BioWare's RPG pedigree, I'm not so quick to dismiss The Old Republic as an inevitable failure. Only time will tell if Hubertz's hunch proves correct.
[via GamesIndustry.biz]
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