While the free-to-play Knockout City received a good inflow of users after the transition, the developer experienced a dramatic drop-off in both retention and monetisation around the end of August. The macro phenomenon he refers to first became apparent around September last year. Some of it was macro and actually can be generalized to all the different games that are shutting down right now." "When we released the free-to-play version, we had a couple different challenges. "We'd made an early commitment also to make it cosmetics-only microtransactions, not going the loot box route or other kinds of routes – and certainly no pay-to-win because it's not the healthy essence of a competitive game," Bala says. The business model changed, but the developer was still determined to avoid some of the more divisive strategies used to survive in the free-to-play space. It sold fairly well but not well enough to as a mid-price premium title to continue to support an additional flow of content."Īs a result, Knockout City also went free-to-play one year after launch, with Velan dropping EA as publisher and handling the game independently. Most of those had converted to free-to-play titles, so the competitive environment changed for pricing. "But by the time we had launched, mid-price premium was pretty uncommon for multiplayer-only titles. "We were really thrilled with the initial userbase as well as the audience reception," he says. caught up with Guha Bala, co-founder of Knockout City's developer Velan Studios as well as long-running studio Vicarious Visions, to find out more about the reasons for this once-promising game's demise.įirst, Bala emphasises that Knockout City got off to a strong start when it was published as a mid-priced premium title by Electronic Arts, with an additional boost thanks to its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass. The multiplayer game, which pits teams of players against each other in a fantastical version of dodgeball, is due to shut down on June 6 – roughly two years after it first debuted. Knockout City was one of many casualties in the wave of online games that are scheduled for closure this year. CEST / 3 a.m.Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox The schedule for the beta goes as follows: Those who participate in the beta will get special perks such as Beta Blue Booster Glider and a Beta Brawler Player Icon. That means if players start on the Nintendo Switch, they can carry their progress over to another system. One of the cooler parts about the beta is that it’s supposed to have cross-progression across all platforms. It also includes the Sniper Ball and the Back Alley Brawl map. This time around, players will get more content such as a new playlist that features Team KO, Face-Off and Diamond Dash. The second beta has everything from the first one, which includes the Moon, Cage and Bomb balls as well as locales such as the Concussion Yard, Rooftop Rumble and Knockout Roundabout. If you have a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC (Origin, Steam or Epic account), Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5, then you can check out the game from April 2 to 4. Curious about Velan Studios’ upcoming dodgeball-inspired game “Knockout City”? Well this weekend is the perfect time to jump in as Electronic Arts announced that it’s holding cross-play open beta across nine platforms.
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