New Revenue Model for MMO Games

Roma Victor's Virtual Currency system to revolutionise the way that players pay for access to MMORPG's

8th December 2004: RedBedlam is to radically alter the way that users subscribe to massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG's) with the introduction of a pioneering 'Virtual Currency' system in its forthcoming release, the historically authentic Roma Victor®.

Typically, subscribers to an existing MMORPG pay a flat fee for access to the game world (usually between $10 and $20 per month). This system however raises many issues, with players paying the same fee unrelated to the amount of time spent in the game world or the contribution which they make to its environment.

RedBedlam's Virtual Currency system dispenses with the traditional subscription model and instead, allows players to continue to access the world with no regular monthly fee required, charging only for in-game currency (in Roma Victor's case, Sesterces).

"The revenue model for most existing MMORPG's – where one player might play occasionally or for a couple of hours whilst another player might be online and active 10 hours a day, but both pay the same – means that subscribers experience differing levels of value," says Kerry Fraser-Robinson, President and MD of RedBedlam. "Some players positively contribute to the game world in terms of content, services and gameplay while others simply enjoy what's been created. Our virtual currency system rewards those that contribute and charges a fair fee to the rest."

Roma Victor will launch early in 2005, allowing tens of thousands of players to shape their own virtual Roman Empire. Further information is available regarding the new revenue model at www.roma-victor.com/verm.