ArcheAge: Unchained? New MMORPG Announcement

So the Gamigo Trion collective as I like to refer to them as now has been counting down for the last several days, slowly releasing little bits of information to the public.
What they were counting down to was unknown, until recently, when a public announcement was made.
That announcement specifically, was that they would be releasing an all new, or at least kinda new? version of the game in the form of ArcheAge: Unchained.
Now before you jump to conclusions, let me elaborate on exactly what ArcheAge: Unchained is and how it’ll affect the main ArcheAge game.

As you’re all well aware, ArcheAge is a very heavily pay to win MMO. Like, if I had to list the 3 most pay to win MMORPGs right now, both ArcheAge and Black Desert would occupy 2 of the 3 spots.
People have often blamed the free to play nature of the game but.. I doubt it.
In an effort to combat the pay to win in-game, Gamigo, the new publishers of ArcheAge in the West after they bought out Trion announced that they would be creating a brand new, standalone version of ArcheAge to run concurrently.
This will provide, more or less, the same game, but with a completely different game experience. So what does this mean, specifically? Just that they’re going to be charging you a one-time fee to play the game, now.
To combat pay to win.. Gamigo are changing the monetization for the game, allowing you to buy the game and play on exclusive buy to play servers, just like you would in Elder Scrolls Online or Black Desert Online.
Trion enjoyed opening new fresh-start servers as well. They provided whales the option to begin the grind, and ultimately spend significantly more money to get ahead all over again.
This seemed like an easy way to take advantage of their playerbase, a method that Gamigo seems all too fond of replicating. But let’s talk about that later.

Since ArcheAge: Unchained will be buy to play, there will be absolutely no subscription fees or even a Patron Subscription, which has existed in-game up until this point.
This means that, according to Gamigo, players won’t be able to simply “purchase an advantage over others.” Labor Points along with Labor regeneration will be capped at 5,000 for everyone and housing will be available to everyone.
What comes off as a little suspect to me though is the fact that they have “ArcheAge Seasonal Passes,” referred to as “ArchePasses.”
While I’m not going to come right out and accuse Gamigo of offering a little something extra for people who pay for the Seasonal Pass.. Iunno. It just rubs me the wrong way.
It’s unconfirmed exactly what it’ll offer but until they publicly reveal what it entails – I’d remain cautious.

Gamigo is an MMO graveyard. They take the remnants of an MMO when they purchase rights to publish it and then they attempt to milk it for everything they can.
I don’t think that Gamigo have our best interests in mind here, and I believe wholeheartedly that they’re just attempting to get more money out of us while they can.
Trion repeatedly released new servers to cater to the whales – and to lull us into a false sense of security – that we’d stand a chance against the whales since it was fresh and we’d have every opportunity they had.
Gamigo announced that they’re supposedly removing everything about the game that makes them money, and relying on a buy to play model to keep the servers running indefinitely?
Even when the free to play servers are generating money via whales and the cash shop? Okay, sure.
They also went on to mention that “cosmetic” and “vanity” items were going to be located in the cash shop.. but let’s be real here: What South Korean MMO is going to have “only” cosmetic and vanity items available in a cash shop?
Now I’m not saying that I believe the game will start off pay to win, but honestly I cannot buy into Gamigo’s promises that they’re fixing everything about the game that people hated.
I might be pessimistic, but the alternative is being burned.. again, by the same company that’s been ruining MMOs for years.

Overall, yes, Gamigo might release something truly amazing. Something so impressive, that the free to play servers completely dry up. Something that has players coming over in droves.
But the likelihood of that being a reality is.. well, I’d have to question why you were of that opinion, honestly.

To me, this is Gamigo being Gamigo. To me, and this is all my personal opinion, mind you, I think they’re trying to scam us out of more money.
I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them. Neither Trion nor Gamigo.
But I know there are a lot of people that’re no doubt going to fall for this and that’s unfortunate. But other than informing you all that I believe this isn’t what you all think it is.. I can’t do any more.
I truly, truly hope that Gamigo have somehow learned from their mistakes over the years. I wish they would suddenly be a publisher that put their players first.
But I don’t think they are, and I don’t think they ever will be. So with that being said.. be cautious. Don’t get your hopes up. Stay safe and wait to see what people say before buying into this.
And most importantly.. judge the game after the dust has settled. Don’t explicitly listen to what others say because their opinions are likely subjective. Mine included.