Is Brighter Shores free-to-play?

Modified Oct 31, 2024 15:57 IST

Is the upcoming isometric MMO Brighter Shores free-to-play? We have good news on that front (Image via Fen Research)

Andrew Gower’s upcoming MMORPG, Brighter Shores, has fans excited although many want to know if it will be free-to-play. Gower previously worked on the popular RuneScape, which has a free-to-play model, with Premium Pass/Premier Memberships. While many prefer having a pure subscription model, others would prefer their MMOs to be free-to-play.

That said, it has been confirmed that Brighter Shores will be a free-to-play game, with an optional Premium Pass. This pass will offer several important features, some of which are purely cosmetic, and other benefits that are far more important.

Here’s what we know about this feature as the game’s early access period draws closer.

Brighter Shores is free-to-play with an optional Premium Pass

Yes, Brighter Shores will be free-to-play with an optional Premium Pass for those who want to support the game. For this, they will get extra features. One thing the developer, Andrew Gower, has been outspoken about in the past is that MMOs have too many microtransactions. His goal is to cut back on that in the game.

There is no mandatory subscription for this MMO, although it is optional (Image via Fen Research)

However, there are some important features available in the Premium Pass, which can be purchased on a month-by-month basis or set to auto-renew. Here are the exclusive features that can only be taken advantage of with the pass:

Access to Mine of Mantuban
Access to Crenopolis
Unique character name
Exclusive armor dyes
Change your name
Player-to-player trading

Here's what the Premium Pass gets you, as opposed to a free account (Image via Valve)

A peculiar feature is the “Unique character name.” According to the pass, this is a character name without a “#” suffix attached. It is likely followed by numbers, as you’d see in a Battle.net name for World of Warcraft.

Some players may be upset about player-to-player trading being locked behind a subscription, but we suspect this is to cut back on bots trying to sell currency/items via third-party websites. It currently remains unknown whether the Mine of Mantuban or Crenpolis access will give players any decided advantage or not.

The price of this Premium Pass is also not known. That said, those uninterested in paying for the service can take part in Brighter Shores as a free-to-play MMO. The Mine of Mantuban looks like a specific place to mine for ore, but we will have to see for ourselves when the early access period begins for this MMORPG.

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Edited by Dinesh Renthlei