With little explanation, NaturalMotion has announced it is to adopt the free-to-play model wholesale moving forward, despite its paid titles on iOS topping 8 million downloads since launch.

The adoption of the new model, revealed in an interview with VentureBeat, will kick off with the launch of My Horse on iOS.

The game will task players with taking care of their own horse – from grooming and feeding it to entering it into competitions – with in-app purchases (IAP) forming the game's backbone.

No horsing around

Indeed, CEO Torsten Reil claims some players who took on My Horse during its limited beta were willing to spend between $150 and $300 during play.

Developed by MunkyFun in San Francisco, Reil also suggested My Horse is the firm's first reaction to the mistake it made initially focusing on the sports genre.
Backbreaker Football, it's suggested, never recovered after negative reviews focused on the game's bugs at launch, failing to gain ground on big titles from EA and the like.

However, despite the claim that the firm's most recent releases are enjoying a five-fold return on investment, 'high-end social games' will now form NaturalMotion's focus, with six further free releases also in the works.

[source: VentureBeat]