Zombie co-op shooter Back 4 Blood will let you share access to DLC content, developer Turtle Rock has announced, in an effort to keep the player base united while also charging for post-launch content.
In a very, very loud clarification post, Turtle Rock yelled:
IN PVE, IF YOUR PARTY LEADER OWNS A PAID CONTENT DROP, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY THAT CONTENT WITH THEM — INCLUDING MAPS, GAMEPLAY AND CAMPAIGN.
OK, Mr. Turtle. No need to shou-
IN PVP, EVERYONE WHO BOUGHT BACK 4 BLOOD CAN GET ACCESS TO ALL ADDITIONAL PVP CONTENT, EVEN WITHOUT PURCHASING CONTENT DROPS. PLAYERS WHO DON’T BUY THE CONTENT DROPS CAN EARN NEW PLAYABLE CHARACTERS AND RIDDEN IN PVP, FOR FREE, THROUGH PROGRESSION. ADDITIONALLY, ALL PVP PLAYERS HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME CARDS AT THE START OF EACH MATCH, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THOSE PLAYERS HAVE PURCHASED CONTENT DROPS OR NOT.
Alright! Alright! But please keep it down. We’re in a library!
This is generally good news for Back 4 Blood, and a sensible business model for Turtle Rock to adopt. Where many games are now leaning on seasonal battle passes to stuff games with cosmetics while keeping maps and new weapons free, that’s not really something that a predominantly PvE game like Back 4 Blood can really adopt. This is still a damn sight better and cheaper for consumers than the old practice of having everyone in a party need to pay for DLC. It’s also good to see that Turtle Rock has put some consideration into maintaining the balance of PvP play as new monsters are added to the game.
However, the announcement has still been seeing some negative reactions online, as people look back unfavourably on Turtle Rock’s previous endeavour Evolve, where the internet at large was intensely dissatisfied with the company announcing DLC prior to release. There’s also comparisons to Payday 2, a game with a similar business model that has an almost unending amount of post-launch DLC to buy.
The spiritual sequel to Left 4 Dead will release in October with beta tests in August
It’s been a busy E3 for Back 4 Blood, with Turtle Rock and Warner Bros. revealing the game’s new Swarm PvP game mode. They’ve also dated two beta tests that will be held in August – an early access beta from August 5-9th, and an open beta from August 12-16th. The betas will be available on all of Back 4 Blood’s launch platforms – Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC – and will include cross-play.
Perhaps the biggest news for Xbox owners, though, is that Back 4 Blood will release into Xbox Game Pass on day one. That day one will be 12th October 2021, by the way.
Source: Turtle Rock
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