Mojang slashes Scrolls' price in advance of launch on tablets

Scrolls, the strategy card game coming from the makers of Minecraft, will see a dramatic price cut when it arrives on tablets. Originally scheduled for a $21 pricetag, it's been slashed to $5. Maybe the Microsoft's $2.5 billion acquisition of Mojang had something to do with it?

If so, Mojang isn't saying. In a blog post on Scrolls' official site, they did say the original $21 asking price "isn't feasible for tablets." Most games, even the best ones, are far cheaper. "Free-to-play would be an option, but we're not keen on the way that that form of monetization can affect gameplay."

So what's the solution? Cut the price to $5 (or its equivalent in local currency) and offer existing customers a $20 "shard package," which is basically in-game purchases of scrolls, decks and avatars, for free . Further, Scrolls will offer full cross platform play among PC, Mac OS and tablet editions. Players' scroll collections will also be consistent across all platforms.

Scrolls will be available on iOS and Android devices when it launches for tablets. The game already is in beta on Mac and Windows PC.