Turtle Rock Studios and 2K have recently announced that Evolve will now be free to play with the new Evolve Stage 2 patch that also packs overhauls and redesigns of certain game mechanics.
Evolve was reportedly removed yesterday from Steam without much explanation. Now, the developers and publisher are announcing that the multiplayer shooter will now be free-to-play for everyone across all supported platforms.
The game initially garnered mostly positive reactions when it launched more than a year ago due to its unique gameplay. However, it drew flak when it started charging expensive DLCs which led to a decrease in the number of active Evolve players.
Moreover, the $39.99 release price was considered to be too expensive for a multiplayer game. The high price and the low number of players led to a steady decrease of the game's popularity over time.
Now, 2K and Turtle Rock Studios seem to be getting back on the track again as they decide to make the game free for everyone. Evolve Stage 2 will be going back to beta testing on July 7 and it will be free for every PC and console player once the testing is finished, Polygon has learned.
Evolve Stage 2 will include several new game modes, maps, characters and more. One of the highlights in the update is that every class will now be able to deploy domes in order to corner monsters. Previously, only the Hunter class could dome a monster and it sucked for the other classes if the Hunter was down or away.
Users who initially bought the Evolve game from a year ago will be given a Founder Status, Kotaku reported. All of their purchases will be carried over and there will also be bonuses given but they have not been announced yet as to what they are.
The game is still available for purchase for the console players. Steam has locked down the game for now and could only release it again after the beta has officially started.
Console players will only be able to experience the free to play model after the Evolve Stage 2 beta has been finished for PC players. Until then, they will have to buy the game or just wait for the official roll out.