Is Once Human free to play?
Yes, Once Human will be available to play for free once it releases on July 9. The game will be available on Windows PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, as well as on mobile devices through the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.
Yes, Once Human will be free for all
One of the biggest new games dropping this summer is Once Human — a post-apocalyptic multiplayer survival shooter from Starry Studio and publisher NetEase that’s about fighting a parasitic alien lifeform called Stardust that’s overrun Earth and has infested everything from humans and animals to the water they drink and the ground they walk on. As a Meta-Human, you’re one of the lucky few who not only survived Stardust’s influence, but is capable of commanding its powers yourself.
It’s a neat sci-fi concept for a game in a genre that tends to stick to focusing on natural wildlife or the zombie apocalypse, and what could be one of the best PC games of the year has attracted a huge following. Once Human is the fifth most-wishlisted game on Steam right now, and gamers around the world are getting ready to jump into it once it launches on July 9. With less than a week to go before its release, though, many are wondering if Once Human will be a free-to-play title.
If you’re hoping it will be, good news: Once Human is indeed a free-to-play game, so you won’t have to pay in order to check it out once it launches next week. Note that like all free-to-play games, it will be monetized with in-game microtransaction purchases. And that raises a question…
Will Once Human have pay-to-win microtransactions?
Something that has the potential to absolutely ruin a free-to-play game is monetization that’s “pay-to-win,” giving players that fork over lots of cash a significant gameplay advantage over those that don’t reach for their wallets (Diablo Immortal is a strong example of this). As Once Human’s release approaches, one of the biggest concerns fans have about it is that it’ll have payments like this — especially since several of NetEase’s past games, such as Dead by Daylight Mobile, have had frustrating pay-to-win mechanics.
According to Starry Studios’ head of overseas operation Derek Qiu, though, players don’t have to worry about any pay-to-win systems in Once Human whatsoever.
“We definitely don’t want to see any pay-to-win features in the game,” Qiu said in an interview with streamer King Gothalion, explaining that Starry Studio has full control over Once Human’s monetization. “There will be no pay-to-win. I swear to God, there will be none.”
The microtransactions will instead be completely cosmetic in nature, with players able to buy items like character and weapon skins as well as decorations for their bases. These cosmetics will also be included in Once Human’s battle passes as rewards that you’ll be able to earn by progressing through them as you play.
