Exclusive Global Agenda Interview with Todd Harris

June 7, 2011 20:24 ( Interviews ) 0

Today we present this exclusive interview about Global Agenda with Todd Harris Chief Operating Officer of Hi-Rez Studios.


Thanks for giving us the opportunity to interview you about Free Agent.

First of all, could you introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Todd Harris and I am the Chief Operating Officer of Hi-Rez Studios. We are a North American independent developer of online games including Global Agenda.

We would like to begin by a description of Global Agenda in this exactly moment. What’s Global Agenda?

Global Agenda is a science-fiction, jetpack-enabled class based shooter MMO. Some people describe it as "Guild Wars with Guns" while others describe it as "Halo meets World of Warcraft". Our development team made Global Agenda for gamers who enjoy the fast-paced combat of shooters but also want deeper character progression, skill-trees and loot like an MMO.

Global Agenda was launched as a pay to play game, but recently you took another way, changing the payment model to a free to play model: Free Agent. Why? What caused you to do it?

Global Agenda was selling well as a buy to play game. In fact we were one of the top selling MMOs on Steam when we decided to make the switch. But we observed that some people enjoy Global Agenda casually like a shooter while others play it a lot more regularly like an MMO. The free-to-play model gives players a choice as to how much of their time and/or money to invest in the game. And of course the free-to-play model also allows the maximum number of people to sample the game. We feel the game is quite fun and that many players who enjoy the game will choose to purchase items or services.

What Does Free Agent offers to the players?

With Free Agent, ALL of the playable content within Global Agenda is available at no cost. Players can enjoy the Open Zone questing area, Mercenary Player vs. Player missions, Special Ops Player vs. Environment missions, 10-person PvE Raids, and even Agency vs. Agency territory gameplay. A free player can progress all the way to level 50 without spending any money.

What kind of items can be purchased, and how do they affect gameplay? What can you tell us about Elite Agent?

The most popular purchasable items that allow you to progress your character faster. Elite Agent is a one-time purchase that permanently grants you more end of mission xp, credits, tokens, and loot. So, as an Elite Agent you do gain levels and new equipment more quickly. Purchasing Elite also gives you access to some premium features such as the player auction house and mail.

Have you noticed an increase of the number of active players since the Free Agent update?

Most definitely. Our daily account registration has increased with a proportional increase in active players as well.

Now that GA is free to play, do you think that the game will get content updates, even expansions, more frequently?

Yes. We believe very strongly in continual game updates including new playable content.

What’s the future of Global Agenda? Is there going to be something new soon?

Yes. Our development team is excited to release a new OpenZone questing area based upon the Recursive Colony NPC faction of robots. We also have new instanced content in development.

Would you like to add something?

For those tired of tab-targeting button-mashing MMOs, or simply tired of elves, check out Global Agenda!

Thanks you so much. It’s always a pleasure.

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