The Settlers Online
Studio: Ubisoft Blue Byte
Released: 2011
Role: Game Designer
In The Settlers Online, the player is tasked with building a city, defeating bandit camps and completing quests to earn XP and level up, unlocking different new buildings, mines, resources and soldiers as they progress.
I worked on The Settlers Online shortly after its initial beta launch - my first experience of a live game with direct player feedback. This project is also where I first cut my teeth on designing (ethical!) F2P systems.
Involved with various core systems, I was responsible for designing new features and systems from scratch, as well as re-designing several features with a view of increasing usability and player engagement, such as the Trade System below. ​
Launch Trailer
Reception
According to MMO of the Year, The Settlers Online is "a hugely successful strategic browser-based medieval city building game. In its lifetime, TSO's revenues have already exceeded the franchise's previous six boxed titles combined."
The Settlers Online has won a total of 5 MMO of the Year awards, putting it "amongst the best Browser MMOs of all time."
15 years after launch, The Settlers Online is still live today (as of Jan 2026). These days it is maintained and kept alive by BlueByte's partner studio CipSoft.
TSO was also released on Disc with bonus goodies at some point
Trade System
​One of my favourite and most interesting features I worked on was probably the trade system. Perhaps unusually for this type of game, The Settlers Online uses a barter system, meaning that the player can trade any (amount of) resources for any other (amount of) resources. ​
This trade system is interesting in many ways, and certain types of players turned out to focus a lot of their play time in the trade and found enjoyment in optimising their economy through this. Different player types specialised in producing different types of resources and then traded these using the barter system.
One way the game takes advantage of this is by making certain gameplay-relevant resources available through play only, while making other (cosmetic) items exclusive to premium currency. What we found was that the trade system allowed non-paying (time-rich) players to have access to these desirable premium items, while paying (often time-poor) players were able to access the more 'grindy' currency by purchasing the desirable items multiple times.​​
Sellers are now guided step by step to list trades
There were some initial problems with the way the trade system worked, including difficulties setting up a trade, sorting through existing listings and the fact that sellers needed to confirm a buyer's offer (meaning buyers had to put up with unnecessary delays).
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I re-worked and streamlined the system for both sellers and buyers.
From a seller's PoV, I simplified the way trades are set up in a step-by-step process; the player determines the type of resource and quantity to offer and then sets up the requested payment resources. These offered resources are now held in a central 'exchange' once the offer is locked in. The seller can list up to 4 lots of the deal they set up simultaneously. Additional lots are available, but are monetised for power users.
From a buyer's PoV this means you can now instantly accept a listed trade without needing to wait for the buyer to come back online and confirm, since the resources are earmarked and ready to go.
Got an abundance of pinewood? See what other useful resources are available to barter.
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