London-based games publisher, Kwari, today announced details about its new multiplayer online gaming service. Kwari’s game of the same name is a first-person shooter (FPS) with a difference; players make money off each other in real-time. The game will ultimately be free to download online, but instead of being subscription-based it will use a free-to-play/pay-to-play model where Kwari sells the player ammunition in place of flat rate charges or monthly subscriptions.

The skill-based game has been built from the ground up around the concept of money changing hands at a tremendously fast rate.

Gamers playing Kwari for cash set up an account, are matched on the basis of skill, and enter a game at a pre agreed stake level ranging from one cent to one dollar a hit. During the four-round matches (3x 16-player maps, 1x 64-player last man standing map called ‘The Killing Floor’) every time a player hits another, money is decremented from the target’s stake and added to the shooter’s. In a way, the player’s money stake mirrors their in-game health, except it’s exchanged from one player to another.

There are also jackpot prizes which require keys to unlock. These jackpots are fed by self-inflicted damage sustained by the players in all games being played globally. For example, if a player jumps from the top of an arena or takes damage from a hazard, their stake is decremented and this feeds into the jackpots, which are then released hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly - the latter are expected to pay out millions of dollars. Most importantly; all money paid in to the game by players is won out of the game by players.

The game will be available for download towards the end of the year. Until then, the company has opened a sign-up website for the beta test program starting next week at www.kwari.com .