With The First Descendant being developed in-house by Nexon first-party studio Magnum Studio, some might be wondering (or worried) that given the game is free-to-play, and it’s being made by Nexon (MapleStory, Dungeon&Fighter), that The First Descendant’s monetization model will be quite predatory.

If Magnum Studio’s is to be believed, it won’t be that bad. In an interview with DigitalTrends, Lee Beom-jun, Producer and Head of Magnum Studio talked about The First Descendant monetization mode, and said that it will be similar to games in the same genre.

Q: How are you approaching monetization for The First Descendant as a free-to-play game? Will you charge for specific characters, stages, or gear?

Lee Beom-jun: I believe that many players are curious and concerned about this. Since we have been running on the same track and direction since the beginning of development, we were surprised to see that after our game reveal, many players were concerned about the excessive pay-to-win aspects of Nexon’s games. Ultimately, we aspire not to pursue excessive pay-to-win aspects. The monetization model will also not deviate significantly from games of the same genre. Paid products will indeed exist, but the characters, equipment, and stages that are needed for gameplay and progress in the game can be earned through gameplay. 

While the studio didn’t go into specifics, I hope Beom-jun’s statement means that the missions, gameplay-affecting abilities, weapons the like, won’t be behind a paywall. What we’re expecting to be part of the monetization is boosters in order to level up faster and the like, which is part and parcel of most F2P games. You can check out the latest gameplay footage from the game right here, which was released during TGS 2022.

Are you OK with The First Descendant’s monetization model, or you prefer that they make the game a full priced title and just take out microtransactions?