Sony Online Entertainment offering a completely separate "Extended" free version of MMORPG; will operate parallel paid iteration; beta start date scheduled for around August 17.
The massively multiplayer online market has proven to be a hotbed for announcements thus far this year. Both Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online have gone free-to-play, hype is building for World of Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion, and BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic is marching ahead for its 2011 debut. Today, Sony Online Entertainment added more fuel to the fire, announcing EverQuest II will adopt a free business model…with a twist.
Sony wants free to play to be fun to play.
SOE--which recently cut 4 percent of its staff--will unleash a free version of the popular MMO Everquest II titled EverQuest II: Extended. The game will operate parallel to the paid version, and will be effectively a separate game from EverQuest II.
Instead of adapting the entire EverQuest II to the free-to-play model like Dungeons & Dragons Online and LOTR: Online, SOE is bifurcating the game, and will release two distinct entities. Players will have the option of taking part in the subscription-based game, or the completely free game. Extended will give players access to all the paid game's zones, including those added with the game's Shadow Odyssey expansion.
Extended will adopt a microtransaction business model, whereby players can purchase power-up potions, armor, classes, races, weapons, mounts and more through the marketplace. Additionally, Extended will use a smaller Web-based application download model allowing would-be players faster access to the game.
EverQuest II: Extended is currently pegged to release "on or around August 17." For more on the upcoming release, check out the game's FAQ at EverQuest II's Web site. Additionally, SOE compiled a membership matrix for the game's multiple patronship levels.
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