The Battle Royale Bean Simulator Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout becomes free to play and finally comes to Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles on June 21† The game, which first launched on PlayStation and PC, was originally set to release on Switch and Xbox last summer, but will finally be released on those platforms soon. A special PS5 version of the game will also be released on June 21. Progress is shared between platforms and you can create cross-platform parties.
Developer Mediatonic, now owned by Fortnite creator Epic Games, revealed the move to free-to-play, the new versions, and a slew of updates on the way for autumn boys in a video published Monday† These changes include an upcoming map editor, free skins for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and players being able to exchange crowns for kudos, which can be used in the in-game store.
Existing players who played the game before it was free to play will receive a Legacy Pack with benefits, including three outfits, a title and name tag, and access to a premium season pass. Also, pre-register on the Epic Games site unlocks common milestone benefits for the game.
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Owners of the paid versions of autumn boys on PC can continue to use the Steam version once the game is free to play, but Mediatonic specifies on its blog that new PC players should download and play the game from the Epic Games Store. At the time of writing, the Steam version is still for sale with no indication when it will be deleted.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has made its fair share of cultural impact, both as a family-friendly, feel-good live-service game released at the right time and as nightmare fuel via viral social media posts. But long after peaking at 172,213 concurrent players on Steam in 2020, the game currently has about 7,000 people playing it on PC, according to steamDB†
The move to free-to-play could increase that number of players, meaning more people could spend in-game money on things like new bean skins from Ezio from Assassin’s Creed and the one based on Pusheen the cat. And it can be a lucrative move – PUBG: Battlefields went free-to-play earlier this year and has made a lot more money since then. Epic also made Rocket League free-to-play after purchasing developer Psyonix and has seen tremendous success operating the free-to-play battle royale shooter Fortnite†
