CCP: Designing sub-based games "a flawed strategy" against F2P

CCP has admitted that designing a game that's revolving around a subscription is more or less "flawed" when going up against F2P.

EVE Online lead designer Kristoffer Touborg admitted to GameSpot he "definitely" saw a shift away from sub-based games in future.

"It's definitely going away, and we're seeing big titles, like Modern Warfare 3 and others, looking like they will be heavily microtransaction-based," said Touborg at GDC Online.

"I would say it's the way of the future, but these kinds of things also tend to come and go. It's a current trend, and it will be for a while. I think designing a new subscription-based game is a flawed strategy, because you are basically competing with free."

He went on to add that a switch to F2P from subs-based for EVE Online, currently at 400,000 subs, isn't needed anytime soon, saying there wasn't quite a need to "turn that bucket upside down."

CCP's working on free-to-play, transaction-based shooter Dust 514 for a 2012 release on PS3.