Earlier this month, World of Tanks — the free-to-play tank-based MMO from Wargaming — launched on Xbox 360. Its success could ultimately determine how much further Microsoft and its partners explore the business model, which has gained in popularity over the past few years. More importantly, it could define the company's approach to free-to-play on Xbox One.
Asked on Twitter if Microsoft has any news to share about free-to-play games on Xbox, Microsoft boss Phil Spencer answered: "Yes. Good success with F2P on 360 will mean things come to XBOX One. We'll announce closer them their launches."
To date, Xbox 360 has seen a number of free-to-play titles including Happy Wars, Warface, Ascend: Hand of Kul and, of course, World of Tanks. On Xbox One, gamers have Killer Instinct which Microsoft doesn't like to refer to as "free-to-play" given its unique model in which the full game is downloadable, but only one character at a time is made available for free while the others must be purchased to play.
Most free-to-play games rely on in-game transactions to generate revenue. While MIcrosoft hasn't shared specifics in terms of profitiability on these types of titles, it can be assumed that the reception towards them is at least worth experimenting further with.
