Evolve turning free-to-play for PC, beta out tomorrow

In a blog post released today by Turtle Rock Studios (developers of video game Evolve) it has been announced that their asymmetric, multiplayer shooter will be adopting a free-to-play (F2P) model for PC with a beta arriving tomorrow.

The game dev’s started out admitting to the game’s imperfect launch, reception and updates and went on to explain that they aren’t ready to give up on the game but are looking to drastically advance it in a new direction instead. ” We’re taking Evolve in the direction that a lot of you have suggested since the beginning. We’re making Evolve free on PC. No buy-in or box required.”

Further updates were mentioned to accompany this monetary shift of direction, they include:

• A rework of the hunter class
• Improvements to map and UI
• Improvements to loading times, performance and match-making
• Improving stability and removing bugs
• Reworking progression and tutorial systems
• Adding more customisation.

Turtle Rock Studios have also made a statement to the players who payed for the game / season pass and may now feel scorned. They said that “Anyone who owns classic Evolve will be given ‘Founder’ status in the new free version, and all the content you already own comes with you to the new version. As long as we work on Evolve, we will show our appreciation for our committed fans and early adopters with gifts, rewards, and special access.”

With a beta arriving tomorrow for PC gamers it won’t be long until we can test out this change of direction and hopefully see the game achieving a level of success it wasn’t able to achieve previously. I’ll personally be giving it a whirl but what do you think of the change? A good idea or is it too little too late?