Cryptic Studios email wrote:Beginning Q1 2011, Champions Online will offer a free-to-play gameplay option. Everyone can download, play and enjoy Champions Online at absolutely no cost!
Now I'm really glad I bought a life-time subscription.
Starting in early 2011, Champions Online will be making the transition to Free to Play. Here's a quick overview of what you can expect:
* Unlimited Play Time – Play as much as you like, as long as you like, at absolutely no cost. No subscription or credit card required.
* Your Own Hero, Your Own Story – Become a hero, encounter your Nemesis and advance to maximum level at no cost.
* Play Your Way – Utilize the optional web-based and in-game C-Store to purchase gameplay upgrades or additional premium content.
We'll be debuting Champions Online Free-to-Play in the first quarter of 2011, but we plan on entering a special closed beta November 9, 2010. We can't wait to share this latest edition of Champions Online with you!
I'll probably end up giving it a go if it's free. CoH provided the most hilarity out of any MMO I've played so I've been wanting to have a crack at this.
edit: Or not, as the free to play options are incredibly limited - you can't pick powers across archetypes, for example. Which was, like, the main good thing about the whole game.
spoodie wrote:Now I'm really glad I bought a life-time subscription.
Me too. It hasn't gone unnoticed on the forums, most seem to be crying for a monthly payout of store points, but a few are acknowledging that they'll be getting free content expansions everyone else will have to pay for.
Few seem to be taking the view most LoTRO life members took that more players means a better game that's less likely to die and more likely to get future content updates. Admittedly though they do get the monthly payout, and LoTRO had a much better track record of updates prior to their F2P release.
