EA Announces Free-To-Play Future For One Of Its 2021 Games

It's often said that critical doesn't always mean commercial success, and that's exactly the story we have here. Published by EA in 2021, Knockout City - the multi-player online dodgeball-like - did very well in reviews. Unfortunately, it seems to have not found a big enough fanbase to allow the online elements to flourish. Now in an EA blog post, the developer Velan Studios has announced it will go free-to-play following its first anniversary.

The company has dabbled with the sports battler going free to play in the past, as Knockout City was part of November's PS Plus line up. However, it appears the devs are eager to attract as many new players as possible. The title is also going to move to self-publishing giving the developer more control over its game.

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Currently in its fifth season when this one draws to a close Velan Studios are ready to make the change to Knockout City. In the blog post it said. "We’re really excited to bring our game to millions of new players around the world, by removing the price tag entirely." Those who have already purchased the game, do not fear, there are bonuses in store for the early adopters.

"With that being said, we do want to take a moment to thank our day one fans for purchasing Knockout City and supporting us from the very beginning. Your dedication and loyalty motivates us every day to continue to build our world, and we couldn’t have gotten this far without you. Our first priority will always be our community, and we’ve built a special Season 6 Loyalty Bundle specifically for those who have already purchased the game before Season 6 launches that’ll include exclusive legendary cosmetics, XP boosts, and 2,000 Holobux."

It's not certain yet when the switch will happen except when Season 5 ends this spring.