Guild Wars 2 makes rare MMO move in China with a pay-once biz model

The free-to-play and subscription models are still a large part of massively multiplayer online games in Asian countries like China -- so it comes as a surprise that, when NCSoft and ArenaNet launch Guild Wars 2 in China later this year, it will simply require a one-time payment. The pair of companies said today that the Chinese version of the popular MMO, as published by KongZhong, will receive the same pay-once model as the Western versions -- a payment system that NCSoft describes as an "innovative business model." Content updates will be delivered to anyone who has bought the game. Updates for the Chinese version will also be synced with updates for the worldwide version. "KongZhong’s approach is revolutionary for the China PC game market, where the free-to-play and time-based pay-to-play business models are most prevalent," notes the announcement. The closed beta is due to launch on March 11.