EA stepping down as publisher of Knockout City which is going free-to-play
Velan Studios will take over publishing duties this spring.
Knockout City studio Velan Studios has announced it will be self-publishing the game once Year 2 starts.
The game is also switching to a free-to-play model this spring, which the studio said is the "natural next step" for it to take over publishing responsibilities and to work even more closely with the community.
Until the game goes free-to-play, you will still need an EA Account to play, and your data will be processed in line with EA’s Privacy & Cookie Policy.
"We have exciting plans for Knockout City, and bringing publishing in-house will allow us to fully realize our vision for the long-term future of this game," said the studio. "There’s so much to look forward to because this is just the beginning."
Velan said that there's plenty of work to do behind the scenes to get ready for going free-to-play, and the team is "all-hands-on-deck" working on the change. Because of this, Season 5 will have a little less content than some of the previous seasons.
There won’t be a new Brawl Pass for Season 5, there will be fewer bundles and new cosmetics for the season, and there will be no new map or new ball. However, this shift in content is only temporary, and a new Brawl Pass, more cosmetics, and plenty of new features will be coming in Season 6.
New maps and balls will be coming in future seasons.
The next season is Season 5: Greatest Hits which will be a celebration of the best that Year 1 of Knockout City had to offer, bringing back Superpowers, Chain Reaction, Basketbrawl, and more. You can also expect new customizations, a new special event in the spring with exclusive unlockables, a new season of League Play, and plenty of other goodies as well.
After Season 5 is over, Year 2 of Knockout City will kick off and that's when the game will go free-to-play.
To thank the community, Velan has built a special Season 6 Loyalty Bundle specifically for those who have already purchased the game before Season 6 launches that’ll include exclusive legendary cosmetics, XP boosts, and 2,000 Holobux.
Since its release a year ago, the game has seen 32 different Playlists, nine maps, six Special Balls, plus the Snowball from Snowbrawl Fight, over 1,200 customizations, tons of features, and more.