The Player Studio was recently announced for PlanetSide 2. This system allows players to make items just as we have seen in previous games. The hot trend of allowing players to make items has been around for some time but only really exploded with Team Fortress 2. We want to explore with you what this means for the industry and players.
The Player Studio Overview
The Planetside 2 Player Studio allows players to create and test in-game items. If their work is good enough they can even have it put in the game and may receive some profits from it. This means we will be seeing a lot more custom content for the game. The content however will probably be limited to cosmetic items. We do wonder if this might change later on.
The Player Studio is in fact limited to players 18 years of age or older. While this does limit how many players can use it we can understand why. You get in a sticky legal situation if you allow people younger than that in.
This same system is already present in EverQuest, EverQuest II and Free Realms. Sony will likely put this in all of their most popular games as the Player Studio is a great way for them to get free content. For the players themselves it’s a great way to support their favorite game and possibly make some money.
The Future is the Studio Mode
Any developer who can reasonably implement it wants a mode like this. User content not only makes your games more popular but also frees up your own staff. The only reason we are not seeing it more is that it can be difficult to implement. Anyone who can possibly do it, will. If this program interests you or you want to contribute items yourself then check out their site.
