The innovative Playstation 3 exclusive Dust 514, which ties into the Eve Online MMO universe, has long been labelled as a ‘free-to-play’ game – however, you won’t be able to begin playing without paying a ‘cover charge’.
Whilst it’s strictly true that you won’t have to pay a recurring subscription to play online, it’s now been revealed that you’ll have to buy between $10 and $20 of in-game credits before you can get into the online world. You won’t have to redeem the money on in-game equipment and weaponry straight away.
Part of the justification for the cover charge is to discourage ‘spam’ accounts that could disrupt the flow for other players, and to ensure the game progresses in a slow and predictable way.
It’s due out in Summer 2012 with a private beta test starting towards the end of 2011. We have to admit we’re still intrigued by the tie-in to Eve Online, but limiting the game as a Sony exclusive, and then adding a cover charge does suggest the player base will be smaller than might be ideal, and given that Eve Online has 400,000 subscribers, it might struggle compared to the 10s of millions of gamers already in the Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises…
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