Pax Dei is an open-world sandbox MMO that presents players with a colossal game world and gives them the tools to do pretty much anything they want with it.
The game will be launched in Steam early access, but you might be wondering whether it will continue to be a free MMO or use a paid subscription model like Final Fantasy XIV and World of Warcraft.
Pax Dei will be in Steam early access for as long as developer Mainframe Industries needs to reach the goal of getting the game into a state where it feels it’s ready for a 1.0 launch. This could take a year, or it could take longer. While it’s in early access, the game can be purchased alongside a Founder’s Pack, but once it hits 1.0, the game won’t be in early access any longer, and that brings into question the subject of how the developer will continue to fund work on adding new features.
Will Pax Dei have a paid subscription after Steam early access?
During a preview event with Mainframe Industries, the developer confirmed that once Pax Dei leaves Steam early access, it will have a paid subscription model to support work on adding more features in the future. However, the developer couldn’t confirm how much that subscription would cost; it would probably be in line with what players expect to pay for an MMO subscription.
There’s no point in speculating about the cost because subscription fees could change between Pax Dei’s early access release and its 1.0 launch. Server and energy costs may fluctuate, and it will likely be somewhat based on the average concurrent player count, so Mainframe Industries will need to work out how much it needs to fund continued development.
Mainframe Industries will need to charge a subscription fee once Pax Dei 1.0 has been released because it wants to keep the game alive and add to it for years to come. The player ecosystem of EVE Online is what the developer wants to achieve in Pax Dei, but doing that requires time and money. The initial influx of revenue from Founder’s Packs will go some way to funding the extra work and keeping the game alive, but if Pax Dei is to stand the test of time, it’ll need to generate cash somehow.
It’s rare to see a game launch and charge players a subscription fee, while games like Fortnite and Destiny 2 have moved into a battle pass model that effectively earns the same amount but offers players more upfront. Titles like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV are still going strong with huge player bases who are happy to pay the subscription because they adore those games, which bodes well for Pax Dei, provided Mainframe Industries can deliver the game it has promised.
