'Shadowrun Online' adopts 'Guild Wars'-style revenue model, first gameplay footage released

Shadowrun Online's Kickstarter campaign gets new updates following user comments.

Shadowrun Online, the free-to-play browser game currently campaigning for funds on Kickstarter, will feature a Guild Wars-style "pay-to-own" revenue model, developer Cliffhanger Productions announced today.

Users who donate $25 to the game's Kickstarter will receive the game without being required to pay a subscription or buy in-game items. The user can then acquire new campaigns and cities as expansions later down the line. The developer initially only included a monthly $10 premium subscription on top of its free-to-play model, which would reduce the amount of time spent grinding, improve in-game reputation and karma, and offer in-game discounts.

Cliffhanger now also confirms the game will be available for PC, Mac, iPad 2 and up, as well as Android tablets.

"Our Kickstarter project was off to a good start, but some fans were hesitant to back it due to the way we wanted to deliver the game or our revenue model." says Jan Wagner, Co-Founder of Cliffhanger Productions. "We have added the campaign model and client as an alternative to address that. Some backers stated that they preferred different gameplay styles to the classic MMO or PvP games. We want to emphasize that you can play the game any way you want — as a single-player game by hiring NPC runners for your team and experiencing the story, as a co-op Multiplayer with your friends or as a mission based PvP."

As described in the studio's second video via Kickstarter, mission goals will be part of a larger player-driven plotline. These may involve gathering intel on targets as a precursor to the mission in order for users to better plan their run.

As of now, Shadownrun Online's Kickstarter is up to $120,691 of its $500,000 goal, with 20 days to go.