The free-to-play model isn’t just for gacha games anymore—even action RPGs can launch with no price tag but be chock full of microtransactions. So, you may be wondering if this is the case with Last Epoch.
We know it can be done. Chinese studio miHoYo made a killing on its free-to-play action RPGs like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail. So, did Eleventh Hour Games follow the same formula for Last Epoch? We have the answer.
Is Last Epoch free-to-play?
No, Last Epoch isn’t free to play. It’s being sold on Steam as a premium title with a price tag of $34.99. That’s for the standard edition, and you also get a pet, Golden Guppy the Baby Chronowyrm, as a pre-order bonus. For the record, pets are a cosmetic item that just follow you around, and they aren’t pay-to-win in any way.
There’s also a Deluxe Edition available for $49.99 that includes an Adolescent Chronowyrm pet, a Fallen Ronin armor set, a Firefly’s Refuge cosmetic portal, a digital soundtrack, and 50 Epoch Points to spend in the in-game store. Lastly, the Ultimate Edition retails for $64.99 and includes everything from the Deluxe Edition as well as the Adult Chronowyrm and Twilight Fox pets, a Temporal Guardian armor set, a Celestial Way portal, and 100 Epoch Points instead of 50.
There’s no mention of any of these prices changing following Last Epoch‘s full release with its 1.0 update. But, much like Skull and Bones and Helldivers 2, Last Epoch does contain microtransactions despite not being free-to-play, allowing you to purchase those aforementioned Epoch Points with real money. While having microtransactions on top of a full price game may be off-putting for some, so far, Eleventh Hour Games only intends to sell cosmetics. There are no gacha mechanics for unlocking character classes, and you can’t spend money to upgrade skills or quickly reach max level.
Last Epoch‘s Steam listing even stresses there are zero pay-to-win mechanics, and Eleventh Hour Games says it “will never offer gameplay advantages by being able to spend real money. We believe in creating a fair environment for all players.”
