Knockout City goes free-to-play on June 1

Knockout City recently turned one year old and if you haven’t yet played the competitive multiplayer dodgeball-esque game, you won’t have to miss out much longer. The game is going free-to-play tomorrow, June 1, with the launch of Season 6.

Knockout City was released on May 21, 2021, to generally positive reviews. I absolutely loved its refreshing take on the team-based competitive multiplayer genre, especially replacing guns with powered-up balls. The mechanics were solid too.

As a budget-friendly title, Knockout City had a lot going for it at launch. But even with an affordable price tag, it still felt like the best path forward was the free-to-play model. This is exactly what will be happening as Season 6 ushers in the free-to-play era of the game.

Besides removing the price barrier to entry, not much else will be changing with Knockout City. There won’t be any shady lootbox mechanic added and Holobux will continue to be earned through gameplay (or purchased through platform stores). The content you’ll be able to purchase will still be cosmetic-focused and not any pay-to-win garbage. In other words, it’s going to be the same game we all know and love.

But what happened if you already own the game? Whether you purchased it or picked it up for free through a promotion, like PlayStation Plus, EA Play, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or Prime Gaming, if you played the full game on any platform you’ll receive the Loyalty Royalty Bundle. This contains exclusive legendary cosmetics, XP boosts and 2,000 Holobux to spend in the future on the Brawl Pass or in the Brawl Shop.

Some other details are still being worked out, like whether you’ll be able to play Knockout City without a PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live account when it goes free-to-play. For what it’s worth, Velan Studios acknowledged that they want to allow everyone to play without requiring an online subscription.

Overall, I think this is the best path forward for Knockout City. I think with a niche game like this, the fewer barriers to entry the better. And since it’s so heavily dependent on multiplayer, you want as many players as possible to be in on the fun.

Knockout City will be free-to-play starting June 1 and I recommend everyone jump in and at least give it a try. What do you have to lose now besides some time?