Awesomenauts is going free-to-play at last

I’d love to see this game thrive

On May 24, the 2D MOBA Awesomenauts is finally, thankfully going free-to-play.

That’s a while from now, though. Why make the announcement so early? Ronimo is gearing up for the free-to-play transition with a beta update for current players available today, April 26. What to expect:

• A reworked tutorial and “beginner experience.”
• A new progression system that tracks your profile and individual characters to award unlocks like currency bonuses, portraits, and character items.
• A new form of currency, “Awesomepoints,” that’s earned in-game through PvP matches or the new co-op vs. bots mode. You can use these points to buy characters, profile portraits, and drop pods.
• Medals for reaching specific milestones.
• The ability to buy playable characters and drop pods with real money, including an “All Nauts” pack that grants access to every current and future character. As before, cosmetic skins will only ever be purchasable with real-world currency.

According to the studio, “Nobody will lose any content during this transition. Existing players will automatically have all the content they previously owned unlocked. And as an additional thank-you, all players who have registered a copy of Awesomenauts on Steam before of April 26th will be granted ‘Founder’ status, with a unique medal. Players who own Awesomenauts and both the Starstorm and Overdrive expansions by May 24th will automatically be upgraded to the new ‘Awesomenauts All Nauts Pack,’ which will grant them all playable characters for free, forever.”

I haven’t played since Ronimo implemented its new matchmaking system. I’m way overdue.