Former Call of Duty Dev's "Human Element" Drops Free-To-Play

Human Element, the first game from former Call of Duty developer Robert Bowling, is changing business models. The survival game has dropped free-to-play in favor of a paid, premium experience.

Bowling, who heads up Los Angeles-based studio Robotoki, explained in a new interview that the company has ended its publishing deal with free-to-play behemoth Nexon. As a result, Robotoki laid off a number of staff, though it is unclear how deep the cuts were.

"As the game evolved we realized that the elements that make Human Element the most fun would be hindered by keeping it a free-to-play experience," Bowling told Gamasutra. "Therefore, we made the decision to switch to a premium experience for our players; which also meant that working with the premier publisher in free-to-play was no longer the best partnership fit for the game we were creating."

Bowling worked at Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward from 2006-2012 as the studio's "creative strategist," contributing to huge games like 2007's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He quit in March 2012, and established Robotoki later that year.

Though Nexon is out for Human Element, Bowling said Robotoki has already lined up a new publishing partner for the game, and expects to make a formal announcement in December. The game is aiming to launch in November 2015 on PC.

Nexon might have lost Human Element, but the publisher still has the next games from the creators of Rise of Nations and Gears of War.