City of Heroes rejoices in F2P success even as it mourns Statesman's passing

by Justin Olivetti on Jan 25th 2012 3:00PM

Super-hero, City of Heroes, Business Models, Events (In-Game), Interviews, Free-to-Play

While Paragon Studios is being tight-lipped about exact numbers since City of Heroes' free-to-play conversion, Lead Designer Matt "Positron" Miller has said that the company has been "blown away" by the results.

According to an interview at GameZone, City of Heroes has witnessed not only an "incredible number" of subscribers, but also a tidal wave of returning and first-time players curious about the new model. Miller cites the popularity of the Paragon Rewards program as a key factor in Freedom's success: "We've really broadened the idea of what a free game can be to a lot of people."

On a more somber note, Positron delivered a touching eulogy for the recently departed Statesman on the City of Heroes website. "Statesman's hand was a hand that lifted us up with inspiration," he wrote. "His back was the strong back of a sheltering protector. His wisdom, that of an insightful teacher and leader. His confidence, driven by a profound optimism about the human spirit."

Massively recently spoke with Paragon Studios about this momentous in-game event.

Source: City of Heroes, GameZone
More coverage: City of Heroes

Tags: city-of-heroes, coh, death-of-statesman, f2p, free-to-play, gamezon, matt-miller, paragon, paragon-rewards, paragon-studios, positron, statesman

Reader Comments (4)

We'll have a good idea in February how Lineage II and City of Heroes' free to play movements have gone (although if you're expecting anything other than major increases, I wouldn't suggest a career in finances), as that is when NCSoft releases their Q4 2011 financial documents.

Statesman (both the in-game character and the dev who took the title) is/was a tool. I hope they keep him dead and don't try for another Superman/Captain America resurrection.

Paragon Studios is also working on a "next-gen" MMO new project (according to their job hire page).

Why don't they ever kill the super villains? Why is it always big news to kill a super hero? So silly, all of it, IMHO.

On another note, I like Coh from time to time, though SWTOR has most of my game time these days. At least until Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning hits and then GW2 after that. Good year for me!