Rogue Snail decouples free-to-play mechanics from Relic Hunters Legend after Gearbox split

Developer Rogue Snail has outlined a set of changes for its Early Access game Relic Hunters Legend, and the biggest will see the removal of its free-to-play elements.

On the game's Steam page, Rogue Snail explained that the game's 1.0 launch will turn it into a full-fledged $20 title. Since it no longer has backing from Gearbox, the studio realized it couldn't stick to its Kickstarter promise of not charging for the game.

Being blunt about it, the team also admitted it "had to focus our limited resources," and "just can’t spare the effort that goes into monetization."

"New challenges have been presented to various development studios, ours is no exception," wrote Rogue Snail. "With all these challenges in hand, we needed to think of a monetization plan for the game that would be fair to our players and sustainable for us."

Hand-in-hand with this news is the removal of Relic's online requirements. With the upcoming 0.11 update, the game will now feature save slots, and players will choose manually whether or not to play with others.

This "significant change" is already being implemented into the Early Access version, and existing player progress will be directly migrated over once the update hits.

Is free-to-play starting to run its course?

Relic Hunters Legend leaving free-to-play is similar to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp's plans in November. Nintendo recently said its mobile spinoff would be delisted as a free-to-play game, but get immediately revived as a premium experience.

While Nintendo may not be straining for resources like Rogue Snail is, there's an indication that some studios are looking to back down from free-to-play in favor of fuller experiences that come with less baggage and fewer concerns about being predatory.

In Relic's case, this is further compounded by a multitude of live-service titles going offline or collapsing in the past year. Many of these were free-to-play shooters.

By Rogue Snail's own admission, converting its game into a premium title was unplanned, and also out of its hands. Even so, it says it'll make the best out of its current situation and hopes the change gives more eyes (and money) to Relic Hunters Legend.

The full list of changes to the game that will come with its update and 1.0 launch can be read here.