Xoom has requested our team at CRS has restored perpetual Free Play to WWII Online, effective immediately. I'd like to go into detail as to the available access Free Players will receive, discuss the big picture of Free Players and how they will be integral to the WWII Online experience, and share some insights and reflections that I have had reviewing recent decision making. If you've created a Free Play account now - or in the past, it should now be active and available for you to play. Continue reading for the details on this significant announcement.
INSIGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
WWII Online, as we all know, is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game - the very first MMO FPS in fact. By definition, it requires a large number of players online for the game to be successful, and that is the root cause for reflecting on the decision back in August to phase Free Play access out, and then coming back to make a course correction.
I'd like to share a quote by Steve Jobs, which has been weighing heavily on me personally in the last 6 weeks:
"Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations."
I'd add onto that it is best to also come to the table with a sense of humility and recognize that some times we make bad calls, and we need to fix them instead of trying to brute force an outcome that is not natural.
In other words, the decision to remove Free Play was seen as a gateway to encourage more personnel to actually convert users into some form of payment, and it did not directly consider the essential component of how these users directly contribute to the overall success and health of the game.
We have since evaluated, discussed and worked out a plan to correct this and we're hoping for your assistance to not only spread the news but also get reinvigorated about the potential for us to grow the WWII Online player base. Continue the read for essential details.
OUR POSITION ON FREE PLAY
Cornered Rat Software is looking at all Free Players who have signed up since 2012-Present, letting you know that we're committed to making sure your experience is worthwhile, fair and reasonable with the understanding of what our product is. It is not a micro-transaction game and it will not, for the foreseeable future live up to the expectations of some of our competitors because WWII Online is designed (in terms of monetization) at its core to be a subscription-based game. There are many advantages to having things this way (no magic powers, quick rank boosters, pay-to-win ammunition) it keeps things relatively fair. Please remember that going forward.
We have, with immediate effect, reactivated ALL Free Play subscriptions, and there is no time limit whether you signed up from www.wwiionline.com (organic channel) or if you play on Steam. We have given them locked, indefinite access, with a much larger equipment and feature list (as seen below) to not only show you that we are serious about our commitment to making your experience great, but that we genuinely want you to play, share the joy of our game and help us build it.
Forum access will be dedicated to supporting these users specifically and we will periodically collect feedback about their experience through standard means such as available support forums and routine surveys / all other channels.
FREE PLAY ACCESS - EQUIPMENT AND FEATURES
All Free Players will receive the following:
- Locked Free Play access (indefinite)
- Permissions / Game Access
- Capturing Facilities
- Using Infantry Binoculars
- Deploying Player Placed Objects
- Including mobile spawns from Trucks
- Rank Attainment to 2nd Lieutenant (Rank 9) ~ All branches
- Rifleman
- Paratroopers
- Rifle
- SMG
- Reserve Submachine Guns
- All tiers
- DLC Vehicles (You do not need to buy these, that's just their names in the list presently)
- Panzer II C
- Panzer III F
- R35
- H39
- Vickers
- A-13
- Light AA
- Flak30
- Hotchkiss 25mm
- Light AT
- Pak36
- FR/US 25mm AT
- 2 Pounder
- Trucks
- Opel Blitz
- Bedford
- Laffly S-20
- Fairmile Riverine
- Permissions / Game Access
- New sign-ups: 1 month FULL premium trial
- Includes NCO (during trial only)
- Includes Ammo Bearer (during trial only)
Steam users who have purchased DLC tanks, will be receiving the PREMIUM versions of these vehicles.
MOBILIZING THE COMMUNITY
Our hope now with this announcement is that you'll assist in spreading the news and that our Free Players will give us another opportunity here at CRS to make your experience great again. Our commitment will remain in-tact to create the most likely scenario for players to try and continue to play WWII Online all over the world so we can create some of the most compelling and memorable grand-scale warfare gaming experiences that only WWII Online is capable of generating.
LET US NOW COLLABORATE AND COME TOGETHER
On behalf of all of us at Cornered Rat Software, we'd like to thank our loyal following to WWII Online. We remain a very special place to be and our goal is to continue that by being more inviting and integrate our new users fairly into the experience, recognizing their continued value to helping the overall mission of making WWIIOL gameplay awesome.
We hope now to garner a balanced relationship with these new users recognizing once again that we are offering a perpetual Free Play subscription version of the game that we are able to while balancing the special access for paid subscribers and their privileges. We will both benefit from this and we need to come together, united in making this MMO + FPS + WWII era simulation vibrant and active. That is how we've made it 18 years, and we have to realize that's the core of our culture here at this community.
Thanks for reading everyone, we appreciate your support.
Salute!
For any assistance, please feel free to contact us at http://support.wwiionline.com.