News from SUN Korean official site
Webzen announced that its highly anticipated MMORPG, Soul of the Ultimate Nation (SUN) will adopt F2P & item sale model in Korea from November 14.
- Basic service and items will be given free to expect increase in gamers
- Premium items, battle zone and other core service will require payment
Webzen will adhere to the Free to Play model, which means basic service and items will be free of charge, but some additional services and items will be sold. It is planned to introduce additional services and items into the game step by step.
From November 14, an “Item Mall” will be open to gamers who can pay for such additional services as character transfer, character name change, server transfer, etc. The future charging plan will include “super house owner in battle zone”, but all the services in the battle zones released in the open beta test phase will remain free.
Webzen states that this type of charging mode is based on the close analysis of gamers’ play behavior during testing. The battle zone is a very popular among gamers, which is gamers’ favorite zone and is used most frequently.
With item sale model adopted in Korean SUN, Webzen’s single revenue structure will change. It is expected that it will contribute to Webzen’s profitability.
However, the charging mode for the North American SUN has not been decided yet. According to Webzen America, Inc, the publisher for SUN in North America, they will decide the SUN operation strategy based on its actual development in the United States. Anyhow, it’s still good news for our English-speaking gamers who are currently on Korean servers, that Korean servers will adopt the Free to Play model, which means we can continue to stay on Korean servers for free until U.S. server opens.
