Square
Enix
has
announced
plans
to
shift
its
Splatoon
inspired
multiplayer
4v4
shooter
Foamstars
to
a
free-to-play
model
starting
on
October
4.

Foamtstars
was
released
8
months
ago
as
a
PlayStation
exclusive
with
a
£24.99
price
tag
and
was
even
given
away
as
part
of
PlayStation
Plus
in
an
effort
to
draw
in
a
strong
player
base.

“FOAMSTARS,
currently
available
on
PlayStation®5
and
PlayStation®4,
will
change
from
its
current
regional
pricing
to
a
free-to-play
title
starting
from
October
4th
2024
at
1:00AM.”

says
Square
Enix.

As
part
of
the
move
to
free-to-play,
a
PlayStation
Plus
subscription
will
no
longer
be
needed
to
enjoy
the
soapy
delights
of
Foamstars.
There
will
also
be
a
“Legacy
Gift”
made
available
to
everyone
which
will
include:

-12
exclusive
color-variant
Bubble
Beastie
skins
-1
exclusive
Slide
Board
design
-1
title:
“Legacy”

The
decision
to
shift
to
a
free-to-play
model
is
presumably
being
done
as
a
last-ditch
effort
to
keep
Foamstars
going.
According
to
Takashi
Mochizuki
of
Bloomberg,
Square
Enix
told
analysts
that
Foamstars
had
failed
to
meet
internal
targets.

Takashi
summarised
it
thusly:
“Foamstars
fell
short
of
expectations.
Initial
momentum
didn’t
reach
an
internal
target.
No
sales
number
to
share”

Since
PlayStation
doesn’t
share
player
data
and
because
Square
Enix
has
not
disclosed
how
many
copies
are
sold,
it’s
impossible
to
know
what
sort
of
playerbase
Foamstars
has
currently,
although
it’s
worth
pointing
out
that
people
still
playing
it
seem
to
be
having
a
good
time
with
Discord
groups
etc.
dedicated
to
finding
groups
to
play
with.

While
I
doubt
this
move
will
be
enough
to
save
it,
I
hope
I’m
wrong
and
Foamstars
can
find
itself
an
audience
willing
to
give
it
a
whirl
once
it
costs
nothing
to
try.