Zenith – the Kickstarted VR MMO that has yet to actually produce the PC-centric version promised during that campaign – has been hinting at struggles for a while now. Back in December, it talked about a major overhaul, followed by the January admission that the studio has been operating at a loss for the better part of the last year. And as of today, studio Ramen VR has unveiled precisely what it’s going to do to dig out, and it pretty much looks like launching a second game.
According to the game’s dev blog this afternoon, Ramen is rebranding Zenith as Zenith Nexus, which now includes two games: Zenith The Last City (which is the existing B2P MMO, now rearranged as Zenith Nexus DLC) and a new spinoff game called Zenith Infinite Realms, “a new season-based free to play procedural action-adventure RPG with co-op sessions, a revamped locomotion system that pushes the boundaries of immersive play, redesigned social playground and more.”
There’s also a new virtual currency called “Zennies”; players can use it to buy cosmetics and “access seasonal content.” Existing players will also have an “an exclusive opportunity to boost their first character in Infinite Realms to match the level of their The Last City character as well as the first paid cosmetic on the store for free.”
“Going free to play will boost the social multiplayer experience,” Ramen argues.
“The new virtual currency and shop will open an avenue for revenue we never had before. With an arcade-like experience that’s more accessible than ever we’re inviting millions of new players to Zenith: Nexus and potentially The Last City too. […] The decisions we’ve made to get here we do not take lightly. We take full ownership of what Zenith: The Last City succeeded and failed at and aim to bring all its learnings into Infinite Realms and beyond.”
