Lawbreakers Will Be Steam Exclusive, Not Free-To-Play

Boss Key Productions announced a bevy of information regarding their upcoming online FPS Lawbreakers at GDC today. The most surprising announcements perhaps are that, despite being published by Nexon, the game will be exclusive to Steam and will not be free-to-play. The exact price has not yet been decided upon, but it has been confirmed that it will not be a $60 title.

Cliff Bleszinski had the following to say about the business model announcement.

After careful consideration of how the game has been progressing, we realized free-to-play wasn’t the right fit for what we're building. Lawbreakers is a competitive game at heart and that means balance is a big priority. Using a digital premium model helps ensure an even playing field by giving fans access to every available role without barriers.

The team is also approaching the art direction differently. Lawbreakers will have a "more mature look and feel." Gameplay will feature "variable gravity effects, unique roll-based movement systems and truly three-dimensional combat realized through grappling blades, reverse blind-firing, time dilation, jetpacks and more."

On the subject of the new art style, Bleszinski had the following to say.

Being constantly compared to the current slew of colorful shooters on the market made us realize we needed to stand out from the crowd. We decided to take a step back and explore how we could dial up the maturity in LawBreakers, going back to our original vision. The new look and feel embraces the innovative and vertical nature of our game elevated by violence, intensity and competition.

A small FAQ—included below—was released alongside the announcement. You can find more information there or on the official Steam page.

Why Steam?
We explored all of our options and determined Steam is the best fit for our community and the competitive game we’re building.

Why did Boss Key/Nexon decide to make changes to the game’s business model?

After careful consideration of how the game has been progressing, we realized free-to-play wasn’t the right fit for what we're building. Lawbreakers is a competitive game at heart and that means balance is a big priority. Using a digital premium model helps ensure an even playing field by giving fans access to every available role without barriers.

How much will LawBreakers cost at launch?

The price at launch hasn’t been revealed yet, but we want to provide a high quality, digital downloadable game at a compelling price. LawBreakers will not have the $60 price point of a traditional boxed product.

Are you developing LawBreakers exclusively for PC? / Will LawBreakers release on additional platforms?

We’re initially developing LawBreakers for PC, then… who knows what the future holds?

When can I play?

We are planning to run a number of upcoming tests before launch. Exact timings are still to be confirmed, but we encourage players to Wishlist the game on Steam to be first in the know about our upcoming announcements.