In a surprising pivot for the live-service landscape, Stoic Studio and Xbox have announced that Towerborne is abandoning its free-to-play roots. Originally designed as an always-online title, the side-scrolling action RPG will officially launch on February 26th as a premium paid game.
This fundamental shift isn’t merely cosmetic; CEO Trisha Stouffer revealed that the team spent the last year performing “deep structural rebuilding” of the game’s backend. The result is a transformation that prioritizes player ownership and flexibility. Players will now own the complete experience permanently, with the added benefit of full offline play functionality, while still retaining online co-op options.
This move represents a significant bet against the current industry standard of recurring monetization, potentially positioning Towerborne as a refreshing alternative for gamers fatigued by endless microtransactions.
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