Free to play is truly the wave of the future when it comes to the MMORPG. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the big guns - Old Republic, WoW, Titan - adopt this monetization program.
Everquest II Turns 7 and Goes Free-To-Play
Play EQII for free next month.
The MMO landscape has been changing rapidly in recent years, influenced greatly by free-to-play games like Wizard 101 and Freerealms, as well as the crushing competition of World of Warcraft. In this volatile market many popular MMORPGs have gone free-to-play, with SOE’s DC Universe Online being the most recent game to make the switch. In December, you can add Everquest II to that list, as well.
You may remember hearing that the sequel to Everquest was going free to play some time ago, and it did, albeit as a separate service. The new free-to-play model for EQII will feature integrated servers, and uses a pricing structure very similar to DCUO. There are three tiers for the membership: Free, Silver, and Gold. Free users have restrictions to the number of character slots, inventory, and other traits, but can level all the way to 90 if they so choose. You can upgrade to Silver membership by spending 500 Station Cash ($5 U.S.), which eases up on those restrictions. And of course you can get a Gold membership, which is the normal monthly fee of $14.99. Gold members get access to all the races and classes, with the exception of the Freeblood race and Beastlord class. The Freeblood race is an additional purchase, and the Beastlord class is a new addition to the game as part of the upcoming Age of Discovery expansion.
You can get a full breakdown of the pricing structure and restrictions here. One particular thing to note from the announcement letter is that DCUO has seen new player registration rise by 1000 percent, with “tons of new players logging on within the first week”. Everquest II celebrated its 7th anniversary this week, and it will be interesting to see if this new initiative brings an influx of players.
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