Hi-Rez Studios recently announced that Global Agenda will be going free-to-play this month, so we sat down with COO Todd Harris to talk about the new payment model, Tribes Universe and more.

ZAM: What about long-term development for Global Agenda? With such a strong push to grab an even bigger slice of the MMOFPS community, you’re also effectively asking players to commit their time and money to a game that’s a little over a year old in the development cycle. Are you planning to use this newfound support to push Global Agenda even further, and do you have any general ideas as to where you want to go?

Harris: Yes. Continued content development of course requires continued resources, and we believe the free-to-play model best allows us to grow the Global Agenda community and expand the game.

In the upcoming Free Agent update the Recursive Colony NPC faction of robots has become aware of the human threat and is starting to attack instances of Dome City itself. This super intense and immersive high-level Defense Raid mission will be live and available to all players level 40+ when we shift to free-to-play.

But that really just sets the stage for a large set of new Recursive Colony themed content that the Global Agenda dev team is working on - including new Open Zone, PvE instances and PvP instances, and new devices.

ZAM: On a related note, it’s no secret that you’re also working on an MMO installment of the Tribes series called Tribes Universe. Will this revenue model shift for Global Agenda affect Tribes Universe in any way?

Harris: As with Global Agenda, we are approaching the Tribes franchise by focusing on the core player movement and combat systems as our top priority. We've chosen to do that by releasing a polished, online multiplayer title called Tribes: Ascend well ahead of the larger scale and scope of Tribes Universe. So, the focus of our Tribes team for this calendar year is delivering a Tribes: Ascend title that re-introduces this great sci-fi shooter franchise.

ZAM: There hasn’t been much talk about the revenue model planned for Tribes Universe; are you perhaps using Global Agenda as testing grounds to see what works?

Harris: These days, to thrive as a game development company, I think experimentation and testing isn't a luxury but a necessity. There are so many offerings out there competing for gamers' valuable money and time. It isn't just the other MMOs, but games on other platforms including social games on Facebook and inexpensive portable games on smart phones and tablets. Fortunately Hi-Rez Studios is an independent developer built from the ground-up around online digital distribution and we are in a great position to keep adapting both the game itself and our pricing assumptions. So, yes we are always testing something with Global Agenda and consumer purchases guide us as to what is working for them.

ZAM: On a final note, it seems like the MMOFPS industry is certainly a difficult market to compete in, but even so, several respectable companies have indicated that their next big projects will compete for the MMOFPS crown. What do you think is the allure of this genre, and what really do you think is most important when it comes to the survival of an MMOFPS?

Harris: There is certainly room in the market for multiple MMOFPS games to be successful. But each game really has to focus on an area they will deliver exceptionally well to differentiate themselves because they will not be able to compete on polish and visuals against the online (non-MMO) FPS games. Is it the scale of combat? Is it using persistence in a unique way? Something else? Within Global Agenda we focus on delivering exceptional class-based combat, and of course jetpacks, combined with a variety of accessible game formats that let you play and progress via PvP or PvE in short doses as your schedule allows. You can play it as an MMOFPS or as a pick up and play shooter. This sort of 'low-commitment' gameplay is another reason that we think free-to-play will be a good fit for the game.

ZAM: And that wraps it up for now! Thanks a lot for answering our questions, and best of luck with this new transition!

Harris: Thanks! We are working to have the Free Agent version live by the middle of this month. But anyone can download the trial today and all character progress will be transferred automatically when that update goes live.

Chris "Pwyff" Tom, Senior Staff Writer