Champions Online Latest MMO Going Free-to-Play

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Champions Online Latest MMO Going Free-to-Play
Cryptic announces their superhero MMO will no longer require subscription fees next year.+
by By Kris Pigna, 10/26/2010 at 06:43

Following in the footsteps of Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online, Cryptic Studios has announced that their superhero-themed massively multiplayer RPG Champions Online will also switch from a subscription model to free-to-play starting in the first quarter of 2011.

Once the switch is made, players will be able to "download and enjoy the game at absolutely no cost," according to the press release. Of course, there will also be premium content on sale in the online "C-Store," including additional "Adventure Packs, items, powers, and costume pieces." Players can also continue to have a "Gold" subscription for $14.99 per month, which will unlock "most of the game's content" and include "extra features" (although what those features are weren't detailed).

Dungeons & Dragons Online's switch to a free-to-play model proved to be a big success, bringing in "hundreds of thousands" of new players, according to executive producer Fernando Paiz. Champions Online, meanwhile, launched on the PC late last year, and was even originally planned to launch on the Xbox 360 as well. Those plans were later scrapped, though, as Cryptic focused all of their efforts on improving the PC version post-release.

A closed beta test of the free-to-play version of Champions Online will begin on November 9. It will include a subset of current subscribers at first, but may open to new users as well before it's over.