Less than a year ago Raiders of the Broken Planet launched, but hasn’t caught on the way developer MercurySteam had hoped. The game was released pseudo-episodically, pushing out $9.99 campaign packs with new missions and characters. While that low price of entry was intended to entice players to try it out, they didn’t take the bait. In order to bolster interest, MercurySteam has decided to make some drastic changes to their online shooter. Starting next month, the game will be completely re-branded, re-structured and free-to-play.

The game is being revived as Spacelords, a name more fitting to the wider lore which in turn increases the scope of the stories that can be told. Previous campaign content will no longer be behind a pay wall, leaving all characters and missions freely available in-game through the new progression system. All future content will also be free, including the new Council Apocalypse campaign that launches with the update. The current player base will not lose anything during the switch; any purchased content will remain unlocked and progression will not be reset. Early adopters who’ve already made at least one purchase will also get some highly exclusive content in the relaunch. Raiders of the Broken Planet will be reborn as Spacelords August 23, but remains playable in its current form until then. Some in-game events will help it go out in style, reducing mission rental fees and upgrading the free “Mission of the Week” to a daily practice. All DLC will also remain available for purchase until the changeover date, after which it will be delisted from the marketplace.