Capcom’s wild dino ride Exoprimal, which has no connection to the company’s other dinosaur-related property Dino Crisis, is bringing fans into a game where they have to fight for survival against some strange forces of prehistoric nature. Though the real question being asked by prospective exosuit pilots is if the game will be free or not.
Even with early doubts about the game’s ability to pull players and keep their interest, Capcom has provided a robust early roadmap for Exoprimal to pair with a stacked launch lineup of modes and ways to battle different threats.
You can team up with friends in survival mode, hunting missions, defense maps, or even a spin on Capture the Flag. There are even more game modes that will drop post-launch, including a raid-like Savage Gauntlet that will pit teams of five against a global leaderboard to fight for the best clear times on missions.
If you want to get in on the action, however, there is a dinosaur-hunting tax.
Can you play Exoprimal for free on PC, Xbox, or PlayStation?
Despite early speculation, Capcom is not embracing the F2P model just yet with some of its multiplayer titles, treating Exoprimal as a premium experience much like Monster Hunter.
“I think that most of the PvPvE titles on the market are based around PvP, with some PvE elements included. Exoprimal has a PvE focus that we feel is very enjoyable, exciting, and unique,” producer Ichiro Kiyokawa said to IGN. “In addition, the main mode, Dino Survival, allows players to enjoy a different experience every time they play, as the missions, stages, and dinosaurs that appear in the game change according to the player’s game progress.”
Related: All Exoprimal game modes, explained
This approach has not stopped Capcom from making the game available through Xbox Game Pass on console and PC, though there are some crossplay limitations that I and many other players are finding quite frustrating.
It is likely that Exoprimal will remain a premium title for several years, with discounts starting to hit all platforms later in 2023 in an attempt to bring more people to the live service. From there, Capcom could drop the price further while adding expansions similar to what Destiny 2 does, or eventually take the game free-to-play like Naraka: Bladepoint did.
