EA-published Knockout City going free-to-play this "spring" without EA
Shift to occur with the advent of Season 6.
Velan Studios' competitive "dodgebrawl" game Knockout City will be going free-to-play this "spring" with the developer taking over publishing duties from EA.
Knockout City - which launched on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PC last May - has just embarked on its fifth season of content, a celebration of its first year of release that developer Velan is calling Greatest Hits. Season 5, which will run for around 12 weeks in total, will bring Knockout City's "Year One" to a close, at which point it's all change for the game.
As Year Two gets underway with Season 6 this "spring", Knockout City will switch to a free-to-play model (it currently costs £17.99/$19.99 USD) - a move Velan hopes will "bring our game to millions of new players around the world, by removing the price tag entirely."
"With that being said," the developer continues in its announcement post, "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 everyday to continue to build our world, and we couldn't have gotten this far without you."
To that end, players who purchased Knockout City prior to its transition to free-to-play will receive a special Loyalty Bundle as Season 6 gets underway, including exclusive legendary cosmetics, XP boosts, and 2,000 Holobux.
The second big change coming to Knockout City with Season 6 is its switch from an EA Originals title to one being self-published by Velan.
"We couldn't have introduced Knockout City to the world without the incredible support of EA Originals," the developer continues, "but now as we switch to free-to-play, the natural next step is for us to take over publishing responsibilities and work even more closely with our community. We have exciting plans for Knockout City, and bringing publishing in-house will allow us to fully realise our vision for the long-term future of this game."
As a result of the behind-the-scenes work required to make the switch to a free-to-play, self-published model, Velan warns fans to expect "a little less content" in Season 5 compared to previous seasons - meaning no new Brawl Pass, fewer bundles and new cosmetics, and no new map or new ball. All those should return for Season 6, however.
"We have exciting plans for Knockout City, and bringing publishing in-house will allow us to fully realise our vision for the long-term future of this game," Velan adds. "There's so much to look forward to, because this is just the beginning."