Ten-Hut! Company of Heroes Goes Free-to-Play

Company of Heroes, Relic Entertainment’s Game of the Year-winning 2006 RTS has pulled an about face – the game has gone free-to-play online. The game’s single player campaign remains unchanged, while multiplayer has been upgraded to a system where players level up with each win, earning points that can be spent in game.

But how will Relic and publisher THQ make money off the 4-year old World War II RTS? I know that’s what you’re all most concerned about (sarcasm ahoy). This new version of CoH will include purchasable multiplayer items that will aid players in leveling up faster and, presumably, kicking Nazi butt.

What’s the bigger story here? Dean Takahashi at VentureBeat says that this move is publisher THQ’s way of testing the market. Company of Heroes may be the strongest western franchise yet to make the free-to-play move, a move usually executed by “unbranded Asian titles,” says Takahashi.

It’s also important to note that Company of Heroes has already gone free-to-play in both China and South Korea, where that sort of deliver model is pretty popular.

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