Cliffhanger Productions sends along an explanation of how Jagged Alliance Online is being changed for its release on Steam, saying the focus of the game is being changed compared with the browser-based version of the game. They say their goal is to make microtransactions entirely optional:

Vienna, May 15, 2013 – Jagged Alliance Online brings PvP-centric gameplay to the classic strategy series when it launches on Steam this spring. Featuring modern firepower, squad combat, and turn-based gameplay, Jagged Alliance Online for Steam will be the first in the series to focus on the competitive experience, with optional content for single-player.

Disregarding typical free-to-play tactics, Jagged Alliance Online will offer all PvP content, including 40+ mercenaries and 500+ items, free of charge. Cliffhanger Productions assures players that everything can be purchased through regular play, with cash purchases offered only as secondary alternatives. Optionally, a single-player content pack containing 100+ hours of gameplay will be available for purchase.

“Jagged Alliance is all about superior tactics (and big guns, of course), so that means providing every player with a chance of winning based on tactical choices, and not any outside factors such as paid items,” says Cliffhanger Productions Founder and Creative Director, Jan Wagner, and continues, “The PvP part is also what makes us stand out from all the Jagged Alliance games, I believe, since no matter how good an AI is, in the end, the true challenge is another player. I am glad we could finally do the game the way we wanted.”