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Star Wars: The Old Republic goes free-to-play on November 15
One question has been on the minds of Star Wars: The Old Republic fans recently: "Has BioWare announced a free-to-play date?" The answer to that question is finally yes. On Thursday, November 15th, SWTOR launches what Senior Producer Blaine Christine calls its "free-to-play option." Christine and Producer Cory Butler discussed F2P and Update 1.5 with us yesterday. They explained that BioWare is looking to expose its game to the widest audience possible, so it is allowing everyone to download the game for no charge, then play the level 1-to-50 game without having to purchase anything. The producers also gave us a tour of the SWTOR cash shop, called the Cartel Market, and introduced us to Cartel Coins, the cash shop currency. Read on for all the shiny details of the changes coming to SWTOR next week.
EverQuest's massive 13th anniversary and free-to-play celebration events revealed
In two days, EverQuest will not only be celebrating its 13th (!) anniversary and adding a sizable update to the game, but also will be making the jump to a free-to-play hybrid model. Since this is no small potatoes, SOE has planned a huge array of events to celebrate the occasion. The fun begins on the Plane of Knowledge, where players can enjoy 13 special quests that harken back to the greatest hits of EverQuest's history. There's also a new raid and the return of 40 events from previous anniversaries to keep everyone busy. The update has a new feature called the Hero's Journey, which is a guidebook that will lead players through a path in EverQuest. To make things even more user-friendly, EverQuest's map system will see a major overhaul that includes the ability to show you paths to your destination. Finally, SOE has an absolutely gigantic F2P conversion FAQ that covers nearly every conceivable question about the transition, including payment options and previous status in the game. EverQuest will go F2P starting at 3:01 am EDT on Friday, March 16th.
Fallen Earth launches F2P, postpones world events
Fallen Earth has barreled over the falls today into the wild rapids of free-to-play, opening up the game for anyone who wants to experience what the post-apocalypse tastes like (slightly leathery). Current subscribers will find that their accounts have been upgraded to Commander-level status, and all previous subscribers and purchasers of the game will have a brand-new Spiked Chopper waiting for them by the end of the week. As part of the F2P launch, patch 2.0 has hit the servers, and with it came several changes and hotfixes. Loot drop rates from mobs have been increased and crafting has been tweaked as GamersFirst continues its efforts to rebalance the economy. In a new dev blog, GamersFirst discusses what's going on with the economy and why these changes are taking place. The primary reason that the devs are monkeying with this system is to get players interacting more and to introduce an element of challenge for crafters. Unfortunately, the world events that were scheduled to go live today have been postponed until next week, following the discovery of several bugs and performance problems.
Champions Online: Free for All gets launch date
While DC Universe Online's release is hogging most of the day's superhero MMO headlines, Cryptic's Champions Online is fighting back with an announcement of its own. The game's free-to-play incarnation finally has a street date (January 25th to be precise), and the game's official website has all the details. "It's a genuine pleasure to be able to announce our release date for Champions Online: Free for All. On January 25, 2011, any gamer or would-be superhero can play within the ever-improving world of Champions Online for no cost," says Cryptic CEO John Needham. What exactly does the conversion bring to the F2P table? For starters, most of Champions' content is available for free (the exceptions being Adventure Packs), and there are no play-time restrictions. Check out all the details, as well as a features matrix, at the official website.
