Honestly, I don´t think that this came as a big surprise to anyone really. As Carbine Studios and NCSOFT´s Mmorpg game “Wildstar” has been struggling to stay above the waterline since it´s release last summer (June). As there has been layoffs at Carbine Studios, and “Wildstar” has also had problems with attracting new players (and keeping the old ones).

However, “Wildstar” is not a bad Mmorpg. On the contrary, the game is really creative and fun to play. (the game has an average score of 80% via gamerankings.com) And i love “Wildstar´s” characters, races and crazy slapstick humor. I´m even going to be so bold to claim that “Wildstar” brought in a much-needed dose of fresh air into the Mmorpg market (wow clones and Asian anime/fantasy games is over flooding the market).

But even so, “Wildstar” is not everyone´s cup of tea. As it´s a rather “different” kind of Mmorpg game. Anyhow, as i stated earlier.  The free-to-play announcement  (“Wildstar” goes free-to-play this Autumn) came as no surprise me. As it was bound to happen sooner or later. due to “Wildstar´s” struggle to stay alive (the lack of interest from players Vs Revenue and expenditure). Call me naiv, but I don’t think that you have to see  it as a last resort for Wildstar, or even as a desperate last attempt to avoid an early virtual death.

Because you could actualy see Carbine Studios and NCSOFT´s F2P decision as a way for “Wildstar” to be reborn again (to start over from scratch), and the F2P model will most likely attract a lot of new players to the game for sure. So I welcome this transformation of “Wildstar” with open arms. Because please remember, F2P doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, “IF” it´s done right that is.

And I belive in Carbine Studios as well. So i wish them the best of luck and fortune in the future. And oh! Don´t miss out on the “Wildstar” live stream btw. It airs at 10AM PDT via Twitch tonight!

Source:
Wildstar´s blog

Robin “V-Act” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround

More by Robin Ek:

• New Old Pixels is to bring the original ‘Toki’ arcade game, to original retro hardware
• The 2D pixel art PvPvE extraction shooter, ‘Project S.U.N.D.I.A.L.’, is coming to Steam on April 27th
• The 1-4 player egg cracking adventure, ‘CRACK’, is coming to Steam on October 26th
• The unique horror game ‘Hoarder’ is coming to Steam in 2027
• The cozy first-person warehouse sim ‘BOB LOGISTICS’ is coming to Steam in Q4 2026

Tags: Carbine Studios, Free-to-play, Mmorpg, NCsoft, Wildstar