Popularity and Kudos are sensitive topics
Multiplayer platformer royale Autumn boys Go free play last week, with the first free season and a new model launching on new and old platforms. A lot of players have rejoined or re-entered for the first time. But a few Autumn boys Fans, especially longtime players, seem disappointed with the changes made to its monetization model.
Ahead of free launch, Mediatonic’s competitive display game-style platform Autumn boys is a one-time purchase game. With the move to free-to-play, the model has shifted from using Crowns (wins) and Kudos (common currency) to purchase in-store items. Now, Crown goes for a separate, smaller aesthetic.
The price of fame
One major area where this has caused frustration is with Fame, the brand new seasonal holiday currency used to grow. It is similar to the battle pass pattern used by games like Fortnite. Autumn boys players earn Fame for each match played, which then level up as they pass.
The move to free play has caused some inconsistencies, as noted by Gamerant. Some the user has discovered However, the difference in Fame between finishing at a later stage or being eliminated immediately is negligible. Some players suggested it can be faster to pass the pass by simply losing.
The frustration here is a bit understandable. I can say that over my own play over the last week, the passing starts off fast but it feels like it slows down the further I go. Challenges help, but Dailies and Weeklies are limited.
The crown is king
Victory is also used to give more direct aesthetic benefits now. Where Crowns once turned into spendable currency for in-store cosmetics, they are now heading for a longer cosmetic reward journey. Those are fun things to unlock, with some golden nostalgia lying along, in its own right. But it also means that, along with the fall of Fame, winning doesn’t bring the same payoffs to some people.
“The game is not fun if it feels like there is no reward and Autumn boys is giving players very little,” said one user in one long analysis of new systems.
Some tension is expected about increasing monetization in Autumn boys through purchasable Show-Bucks (similar to Fortnite V-bucks). But there seems to be frustration about more than one or two things, but some aspects afterward new model.
I say all this, while most of it I don’t know and am very happy to be back Autumn boys. Shows have been featured for a number of seasons since I stopped streaming and are now a blast, and the move to free-to-play has made it easy to convince your friends to download and try them out. Mediatonic posted that it hit a 20 million player milestone within the first 48 hours of the first free season.
However, that is all in the short term. Mediatonic’s New Approach to Autumn boys can cause some long-term stress.
