Kingdom Under Fire 2 English release coming in November 2019, is B2P

Gameforge has fulfilled its promise from last week, when the German studio said that it had some juicy details for this week. Today, all was revealed: the Kingdom Under Fire 2 English release is set in stone, scheduled for November 2019 in North America and Europe.

However, it comes with a big surprise that is probably not going down well with players waiting for Kingdom Under Fire 2 – it will be a premium game, which means that you'll have to buy the game. Pre-orders are now available and start at $29.99 USD.

This is a surprising move for Gameforge and one that seems out of touch with the reality of Kingdom Under Fire 2. For a game that was originally announced in 2008, entered its first South Korean beta in 2011, having shut down in Asia in the meantime, this is a risky decision. It spent some time in development hell, without any clear indication that it would end up being fully released.

Bless Online immediately comes to mind, a free-to-play MMORPG that took several years to reach the west, and came with a business model change. It made many players think that it was worth it paying for the game – spoiler: it wasn't.

Gameforge promises “higher drop rates” and an in-game store that exclusively focuses on cosmetics and convenience items such as mounts. Nonetheless, it's still a free-to-play game turned premium with a cash shop on top.

The Kingdom Under Fire 2 English release trailer shows the five classes that you can choose from: Spellsword, Berserker, Tracker, Gunslinger, and Elementalist. Some players are saying that the game is censored, but we'll have to wait for full gameplay to get a confirmation.

Pre-orders come in three flavors and start at $29.99 / €26.99 for the Hero Package. The Emperor Package costs $49.99 / €44.99 and the War God Package will set you back $99.99 / €89.99. Each pack brings the usual bonuses, including costumes, boosters and in-game currency.

What do you think of the idea of turning Kingdom Under Fire 2 into a premium game? Will you buy it?