Xbox’s Towerborne is switching from a free-to-play game to a paid one

Towerborne, a side-scrolling action RPG published by Xbox Game Studios that has been available in early access, will officially launch on February 26th. But instead of launching as a free-to-play, always-on online game as originally planned, Towerborne is instead going to be a paid game that you can play offline.

“You will own the complete experience permanently, with offline play and online co-op,” Trisha Stouffer, CEO and president of Towerborne developer Stoic, says in an Xbox Wire blog post. “This change required deep structural rebuilding over the past year, transforming systems originally designed around constant connectivity. The result is a stronger, more accessible, and more player-friendly version of Towerborne — one we’re incredibly proud to bring to launch.”

“After listening to our community during Early Access and Game Preview, we learned players wanted a complete, polished experience without ongoing monetization mechanics,” according to an FAQ. “Moving to a premium model lets us deliver the full game upfront—no live-service grind, no pay-to-win systems—just the best version of Towerborne.”

With the popular live service games like Fortnite and Roblox getting harder to usurp, Towerborne’s switch to a premium, offline-playable experience could make it more enticing for players who don’t want to jump into another time-sucking forever game. It makes Towerborne more appealing to me, at least.

With the 1.0 release of the game, Towerborne will have a “complete” story, new bosses, and a “reworked” difficulty system. You’ll also be able to acquire all in-game cosmetics for free through gameplay, with “no more cosmetic purchasing.” Players who are already part of early access will still be able to play the game.

Towerborne will launch on February 26th on Xbox Series X / S, Xbox on PC, Game Pass, Steam, and PS5. The standard edition will cost $24.99, while the deluxe edition will cost $29.99.