Another MMO falls foul of stagnating subscription counts, opting to take the road towards free-to-play. This time, it's Trion World's Rift that's going the way of so many open-world RPGs before it. Come June 12, the world of Telara will be open for all players.
"Over the last two years, we've seen the online gaming market evolve and expand, with millions of new players in North America and Europe embracing free-to-play games," reads a statement announcing the move. "This is just the latest evolution of Rift that will allow us to bring even more players into the world of Telara.
"Our free-to-play model is built on a simple idea: everyone can download, log in, and play all of Rift, free. New players will have access to all game content – from dungeons and Warfronts to the latest raids – with no level restrictions.
"Players prefer free games! Trion has always been progressive with the way we've let people access Rift, offering trials and referral offers since shortly after launch, Return to Telara events where we invited players to come back for free to see what they missed, partnerships with companies like Raptr, iGames, and others."
Trion Worlds is keen to point out that Rift will "not become ‘pay-to-win’ with this change. The best items in the game will always have to be earned in Telara."
Those who have been paying subscription fees for a while will get a smattering of freebies and additional content as compensation for the game going free-to-play.
"Over the last two years, we've seen the online gaming market evolve and expand, with millions of new players in North America and Europe embracing free-to-play games," reads a statement announcing the move. "This is just the latest evolution of Rift that will allow us to bring even more players into the world of Telara.
"Our free-to-play model is built on a simple idea: everyone can download, log in, and play all of Rift, free. New players will have access to all game content – from dungeons and Warfronts to the latest raids – with no level restrictions.
"Players prefer free games! Trion has always been progressive with the way we've let people access Rift, offering trials and referral offers since shortly after launch, Return to Telara events where we invited players to come back for free to see what they missed, partnerships with companies like Raptr, iGames, and others."
Trion Worlds is keen to point out that Rift will "not become ‘pay-to-win’ with this change. The best items in the game will always have to be earned in Telara."
Those who have been paying subscription fees for a while will get a smattering of freebies and additional content as compensation for the game going free-to-play.
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