Crytek CEO: DLC Milking Customers To Death

Crysis developer Crytek's future projects will be focused on free-to-play gaming, according to CEO Cevat Yerli. One reason for the switch is that the company dislikes how other developers are nickel and diming gamers.

"If you look at what kind of games are done in the packaged goods market, with DLCs and premium services and whatnot, it's literally milking the customers to death," Yerli told Videogamer.

Crytek's first entry into the free-to-play market is Warface. The CryEngine3-powered multiplayer shooter, developed company's Kiev studio, is currently live in Russia and will expand elsewhere in the future. Yerli says that this game is their model for future development: a console quality game with a triple-A budget that costs zero to download and play.

"Right now we are in the transitional phase of our company, transitioning from packaged goods games into an entirely free-to-play experience. What this entails is that our future, all the new games that we're working on, as well new projects, new platforms and technologies, are designed around free-to-play and online, with the highest quality development."

To be fair, free-to-play games do engage in their own sort of nickel-and-diming. They allow players to purchase optional content - such as in-game items - for real money. Still, the key difference is that players can get their hands on the game and play the hell out of it before they decide to shell out any cash. You're basically able to determine the exact amount of money you spend on your gaming habit. It's a very user-friendly business model.

In the interview, Yerli says that once they finish their current boxed products, they're going to switch entirely to F2P development. I'm curious what this transition will mean for Crysis, their flagship franchise. I doubt they'd abandon the series, as it's such a recognizable name in gaming at this point. Perhaps they'll make a free-to-play Crysis after they release Crysis 3?