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The plan was free-to-play for a long time: the base game free, civilizations and modes to buy or to earn by playing, following the example of War Selection. That plan is off the table.

The reason is simple. Free-to-play only works with a living multiplayer base: you sell to people who keep playing, and there are only enough of those once there is always a match open. That base does not exist yet. A free game with an empty server list sells nothing, and then you are stuck with all the downsides — a shop, points, unlocks — without the upside.

So:

• One price, around €12–15, with everything in it. All six civilizations, multiplayer, the tutorial, the map generator, replays.
• No tech points, no unlocks. You pick your civilization at the Bronze Age and they are all there.
• A free demo that stays up, with a store page of its own. It has to do what free-to-play would have done: bring people in without a barrier.

The code for buying and unlocking is built and stays in. Not because something goes on sale tomorrow, but because cosmetics or an extra mode are still possible later, and then it will not have to be written again.