WildStar Being Pulled Off Shelves in Australia, Free-to-Play Coming?

A report on Games.on.net claims that retail copies of Carbine Studios’ sci-fi MMORPG WildStar are being pulled off shelves in Australia, or at least that is the word coming from an anonymous EB Games employee who spoke with the website. It’s hard to say whether there is any truth to the report, but if there is, a move to a free-to-play business model seems like the most likely motive:

games.on.net understands that both EB Games and JB Hi-Fi, who between them control the majority of the Australian retail gaming market, have now removed WildStar from sale.

An EB games employee, speaking to games.on.net, said that the stock had been withdrawn (a few weeks ago) and suggested that it might now be free-to-play. As of the time of printing however, the official WildStar website still offers the game for purchase starting at USD $40.

A similar phenomenon was observed earlier this year when retail copies of The Elder Scrolls Online disappeared from retailer shelves. TESO then re-launched itself as (The Elder Scrolls: Tamriel Unlimited), ditching the subscription fee and moving to a Guild Wars-style (buy to play) model.

Thanks, VG247.