Valve’s new pricing will charge players based on how much of a jerk they are

The folks over at Valve have cooked up a novel pricing model for the upcoming Defense of the Ancients 2. Managing director Gabe Newell says that players will be charged based on what they bring to the community. Team players might get a free ride whereas jerks are going to have to pay cold hard cash.

“The issue that we’re struggling with quite a bit is something I’ve kind of talked about before, which is how do you properly value people’s contributions to a community?” Newell told Develop magazine.

If you are the kind of player who helps newbies find their footing, releases cool mods, and reports bugs in a timely manner, you might find yourself playing for free. If you’re a troll who picks on new players, exploits flaws in the game mechanics, and generally makes things less fun for everyone else, expect to pony up quite a bit.

“So, in practice, a really likable person in our community should get Defense of the Ancients 2 for free because of past behaviour in Team Fortress 2. Now, a real jerk that annoys everyone; they can still play, but a game is full price, and they have to pay an extra hundred dollars if they want voice,” Newell told Develop.

[Photo credit: SamBoyy]