Ship of Heroes’ $45 Price Tag and $15 Monthly Fee Sparks Backlash
▼ Summary
– Ship of Heroes was intended as a spiritual successor to the MMO City of Heroes but has struggled since its 2016 announcement.
– The game’s 2017 Kickstarter campaign failed, raising only a fraction of its goal, yet development continued.
– Ship of Heroes launched in 2025 with a controversial $45 purchase price and a $15 monthly subscription fee.
– The game has experienced an extremely low player count, with a 24-hour peak of only 32 players shortly after launch.
– The developers have responded poorly to criticism on forums, with one locking threads and making hostile remarks toward potential players.
The recent launch of Ship of Heroes, a spiritual successor to the beloved City of Heroes, has ignited significant controversy due to its pricing model. In an era dominated by free-to-play titles, the game has debuted with a $45 purchase price and a $15 monthly subscription fee, creating a substantial $60 initial investment for players. This bold strategy has resulted in a notably small player base and considerable backlash from the community.
For many fans of the superhero MMORPG genre, City of Heroes remains an unparalleled experience, creating a fervent desire for a true successor. Announced in 2016, Ship of Heroes aimed to carry that torch, featuring a setting on a massive spaceship and familiar mechanics like archetypes with power sets and slotable enhancements. However, its development journey was challenging, marked by an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign in 2017. Despite these hurdles, the small development team persevered, culminating in the game’s official release.
The decision to implement a premium subscription model has proven deeply unpopular. Currently, only a handful of major titles like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV successfully sustain themselves with monthly fees. The immediate consequence for Ship of Heroes has been an alarmingly low player count. On its launch day, the game peaked at around 100 concurrent players, a figure that rapidly dwindled to a mere seven players by mid-week. This tiny audience raises serious questions about the game’s long-term viability.
Community forums have become a focal point of the discontent. Many discussion threads are locked, with topics ranging from simple requests for a demo to expressions of sympathy for the developers. The official response from the team, however, has further fueled the fire. A representative, posting under the name SoH7, engaged in lengthy, sarcastic retorts directed at critical posters, suggesting the price tag was necessary to keep “rude and insulting people” out of the game. This type of communication has been widely perceived as unprofessional and counterproductive.
While the dedication of the developers is admirable, the combination of a high financial barrier to entry and a confrontational community management style appears to be a recipe for failure. The situation serves as a stark reminder that in the modern gaming landscape, a subscription model is an extremely difficult sell, especially for a niche indie title without a massive marketing budget. For a project born from passion, the current trajectory is a disappointing outcome for everyone involved.
(Source: PC Gamer)
