This week Electronic Arts's online game BattleForge enters open beta. The game makes novel use of microtransaction sales of virtual goods as part of its business model and is one of the first times we've seen virtual goods worked into the business plan of what is clearly a triple A MMOG.
BattleForge is not a free-to-play title, instead retailing in stores and online for $49.99. There is no monthly fee for play, with post-purchase revenue instead to be generated by sales of virtual goods. While it will not be strictly necessary for a player to purchase virtual goods, most players will probably end up doing so due to the nature of the gameplay.
BattleForge is a "MMORTS" where players essentially play RTS battles either against computer opponents or other human opponents. Each unit in the battle is represented by a virtual trading card. Units used in battle gain experience and grow more powerful, but players can only obtain more units for their army by purchasing virtual "booster packs" that contain random assortments of virtual cards.
The strategic elements of the game will require a player to either purchase lots of boosters until they obtain the units they desire for their army, or to trade away unwanted units to other players. So in BattleForge, a player's army of characters as represented by virtual trading cards are essentially virtual goods to be purchased.
EA will not be charging a subscription fee for the game despite its MMO status. All post-purchase costs of operating the game are going to be funded by sales of virtual goods in the form of the CCG-style unit "booster packs". Each booster pack contains eight cards: five common units, two uncommon units, and one rare or ultra rare unit.
Along with the box copy purchase of BattleForge required to begin playing the game, users get four "starter deck" armies aligned to each of the game's major elemental powers. Each starter deck contains sixteen cards. In addition, players get 3000 complimentary BattleForge Points. Booster packs cost 250 BattleForge Points each, and additional BattleForge Points can be purchased as part of a virtual goods package called the BattleForge Point Box.
Point Boxes can be purchased directly from BattleForge online or from traditional retailers. Each Point Box costs $19.99 and contains 2000 BattleForge Points. So, BattleForge's booster packs cost roughly $2.50 US if viewed in real money terms, a price point comparable to the card costs associated with Sony Online Entertainment's online virtual CCGs. Players may also pay for Point Boxes in Euro, in which case the cost is still €19.99.
BattleForge's developer, EA Phenomic, is a German company acquired by Electronic Arts in 2006. BattleForge is the developer's first foray into the MMO or virtual goods spaces. The developer is otherwise known for developing the PC RPG/RTS fusion SpellForce as well as the early RTS PC title The Settlers.
Even more than Battlefield Heroes, BattleForge represents a tremendous commitment to the virtual goods model by the second-largest console and PC game published in North America. That the game accepts payments in Euros and is also available in three languages (English, German, and Russian) represents a tacit acknowledgment of the international nature of business in the virtual goods space.
What is curious about BattleForge is that the game is not free-to-play but is instead a box copy purchase. It will be interesting to see in future months if this higher entrance cost drives players awayor makes the game seem more attractive to traditional PC gamers who might otherwise not express interest in a microtransaction title.
If BattleForge is a success, it's very likely that we could see more PC games that used box copy sales to justify higher production values and allow microtransaction sales of virtual goods replace subscription fees. A failure could make future publishers shy away from the idea of monetizing any sort of triple A MMOG post-launch through virtual goods sales alone.
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