If someone's trying to convince you that the MMORPG genre is dead, don't believe it! Sure, it may not be as lively as the years following the massive success of World of Warcraft—you know, when we saw Lord of the Rings Online, Age of Conan, Warhammer Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Star Trek Online all released within a few years of each other—but i??t's still a good time to be an MMORPG fan and this week proves it. In a four-day window, we will see the release of two brand-new MMORPGs as well as the relau?nch of a classic version of a popular MMORPG. Let's take a look at what's coming this week.

Pax Dei Early Access Launch - June 18

It all kicks off on June 18 with the Early Access launch of the highly anticipated sandbox MMORPG Pax Dei. I had a hands-on experience with Pax Dei in November 2023 and was blown away by developer Mainframe Industries ability to create a massive world that felt like the players truly molded it how they wanted. In a nutshell, if you've ever played an MMORPG and thought, "It would be cool to just be a blacksmith all day and actually be able to progress and be useful in an MMORPG", Pax Dei gives you the opportunity to do just that.

Even though it's launching into Early Access, the core meat and potatoes of Pax Dei are there. The 116 mi² map tasks players with finding their own slice of life to settle down and build a homestead, eventually building up to an entire village or fortress. In a purely player-driven economy, it's up to the inhabitants of Pax Dei to work together or fight over resource?s as they b?uild and tech up.

Mainframe Industries expects the Early Access period to last at least a year as they enhance and evo?lve the MMORPG based on player feedback.

Pax Dei launches in Early Access on Steam on June 18.

EverQuest 2 Origins (Classic) Server Anasthi Sul - June 19

The very popular MMORPG EverQuest had a sequel release in November of 2004, though many people didn't get the opportunity to play it then. Why? Well, just two weeks after its release, an MMORPG you may have heard of called World of Warcraft took the genre by storm. EverQuest 2 is still supported today, with the Ballands of Zimara expansion dropping last year, and a new expansion codenamed EverQuest 21 (indicating the 21st expansion) is set to launc???h in November of this year.

Back in April the new owner of EverQuest, Darkpaw Games, announced that a classic "origins" server for EverQuest 2 was in the works. While the game has evolved over the ye??ars, especially to be more solo-friendly, many miss the times when MMORPG's had a bit more of the MMO part, primarily due to mechanics being built around socializing and working with other players.

This unique server aims to bring the social back to EverQuest 2. The server will launch with just the base vanilla EverQuest 2 experience??, with a focus on group play. Mechanics that have become trivial over the years like relying on other players to craft gear, putting together parties to tackle dungeons, and leveling groups, will be front and center with this server.

The EverQuest 2 Origins server, Anasthi Sul, is set ??to launch on June 19.

Tarisland Global Launch - June 21

At the beginning of 2023, the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft went offline in China due to a dispute between Blizzard and the game's Chinese distributor NetEase. This was a big deal as World of Warcraft has a mas??sive player base in China, and all of a sudden millions of players suddenly couldn't access their account overnight.

In the midst of all the madness, Level Infinite and Tencent saw an opportunity to fill the void and announced Tarisland, an MMORPG with a plethora of race and class combinations where players would work together to explore, craft, and take down massive bosses in raid encounters. Tarisland has ?been developed to allow cross-platform play between PC, Android, and iOS devices ??all at once.

In April 2024, Blizzard and NetEase resolved their differences and came to an agreement which brought World of Warcraft back to China. Tarisland is still hoping to provide an enticing experience in a F2P format that uses the standard WoW-like MMORPG formula.

Tarisland launches gl??obally? on PC, Android, and iOS on June 21.

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Also, giant bunny mounts

EverQuest II is approaching its 10th anniversary. It originally released in 2004, the same year that Kanye West's genius debut College Dropout dropped.

Altar of Malice brings with it a new playable race, the Areakyn. They offer some extra aesthetic customization (custom horns, wings, scale pattern color) and their wings actually develop over time so when y??ou hit level 85 and achieve flight, its on your own homegrown wings.

The expansion is one of the series' largest, with 14 heroic zones, 6 raids, 6 advanced solo zones??, 2 contested zones, and 2 overlands (first built on new terrain tools). You've also got weirdos in the Ossuary of Malevolence trying to get close to undead without dying, Pygmies worshiping the dinosaurs th?at eat them as gods, and a wild area that is upside down.

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Adjustments to how F2P subscribers get items

Right now, it's a pretty popular option to let subscribers of free-to-play games pay a monthly fee to get extra stuff on top of the F2P experience. Players of EverQuest, EverQuest II, and PlanetSide 2 currently get 500 "Station Cash" monthly, but starting February you'll have the option to pick up an item worth 2000 -- you can miss this item, so you have to choose every month. DC Universe Online and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will have their own changes in tow for Legendary and Gold members respectively.

My problem with games with "sub" options on top of F2P is that they ultimately don't offer as much value as a full-on subscription based game. With all of the microtransactions on top of that "premium" sub, dedicated players just end up paying more than they would for a standard MMO and get less content for it. Still, it's a fine line, because some people only want to dabble in MMOs and don't want to commit to a monthly fee -- so they won't be playing games like Elder Scrolls Online.

Hopefully in the future there will be some sort of consistent compromise, but the developers that are working on WildStar seem to be dabbling in that.

SOE Making Changes to Subscriber Account Benefits [Ten Ton Hammer]

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Lol grinding

Well, this is happening. EverQuest II is letting players just straight up buy a level 85 Heroic charac?ter. N?o grinding, just throw down real cash and you'll get a high level character along with 280 AA points. There's also a try before you buy option where you can play as a level 85 character up until you upgrade one level to 86. The free trial includes 100 AA points, a flying mount, armor, consumables, and some restrictions.

Additionally, SOE is hosting a "Hero's Call" promotion from October 1 to October 15 where you'll be ab??le to create one permanent Heroic character for free.

This whole thing is being done as a means to give players a jump on the upcoming November launch of the Tears of Veeshan expansion. I've never played an EverQuest game ever, so you're going to have to tell me if this is gross concept. This is gross, righ?t?

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EverQuest II is back with game update 63 coming April 17th! Sony Online Entertainment is adding content to two different expansions: Destiny of Velious and Age of Discovery. In the DoV updates, players will see the level cap increased to 92, a new zone with over 100 quests and raid content, different difficulty l?evels for the Skyshrine instances, new builds and skills, and a Drake mount.

As for the AoD content, we will see Poet's Palace Dungeon Maker theme and items, new Dungeon Maker adventures, tradeskill apprentices with more recipes, and Beastlord?s will have new warders to tame.

Oh, and just in case you forgot, EverQuest 2 is free to play and you can try it out here.

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The cold, bleak month of February has never struck me as particularly romantic. But my frosty heart is often melted by trinkets, so I'll take what I can get. With Valentine's Day drawing near SOE has decided to court the players of a few?? of their MMOs. Instead of sending them inappropriate pictures and hanging around their houses late at night in the conventional manner, SOE? is offering quests, contests and rewards. If they do start stalking you it has nothing to do with their Valentine's Day celebrations and you should probably just call the police.

In Free Realms players can celebrate the Festival of Hearts which features a pixie romance, themed areas and quests for special Valentine's Day items. In Norath it's Erollisi Day and Everquest II's players can aid the Sisters of Erollisi in fulfilling the call of love, if that's carnal love or something else, I don't know. Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures is just getting some marketplace items, maybe it doesn't deserve as much love? You can find the dates and some more information on their respective sites.

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When it comes to MMOs, some people like to craft, others enjoy thrashing opponents in PvP, there are raidaholics and then there are those folk who just want to make friends. I'm the guy who just wants to move quickly. That's my goal in most MMOs. Walking about for ages is annoying enough in real life but at least I'm ever so slig??htly repairing the damage to my heart and lungs caused by years of smoking and shouting at strangers. In an MMO I'm just hitting the auto-run key and going to sleep.

Taking a leaf out of Aion's book and perhaps in an effort to snare lazy people like myself, Everquest II has given players wings. For those of the more angelic persuasion Pegasus Feather Flight Wings are available, while those who like their soaring served with a side of v??illainy might find the Nightm?are Flight Wings more to their liking.

The wings are items rather than a terrible genetic mutation, so you're more Icarus than Angel. You can purchase the wings with Station Cash, which SOE is no doubt hoping a few of you will do since the game went free-to-play recently. Essentially the wings are just like flying mounts, which Everquest II has had for some time, so it's purely aesthetic. I could say that the flying looks awkward and generally terrible, but as this is a seven year old game I'm going to cut it some sl??ack.

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Hot on the heels of its 7th anniversary, EverQuest II has announced that it wil?l be making changes to the way it handles free-to-play? this December.

According to producer Dave "SmokeJumper" Georgeson, "We believe the key to meeting ?your expectations is to provide more flexibilit?y and to deliver what you want when you want it, whether it's basic game content, full subscription access to the game, or something in-between."

Georgeson goes on to explain that the subscription model will be changing in a few significant ways. "Bronze" mem??bership will be called "Free," "Silver" memberships will be 500 Station Cash lower, and the "Platinum" memberships will be phased out. On top of the dangers of Norrath that new "Free" and "Silver" members will face, they'll also have to deal wit??h the limitations placed on their accounts, such as restrictions on character class, race and on how much Coin they may carry.

Sony Online Entertainment has also detailed the features in the next expansion Age of Discovery, releasing in December as well.

• The Dungeon Maker will allow players to construct their own fiendish labyrinth of terror, and then test their metal against the traps and monsters of their own design.
• The Beastlord class makes a return, allowing players to seek out and train creatures as their warder pet.
• Having a hard time in that one dungeon and need some extra steel at your side? Well, if you've got the coin, then friendly Norrath Mercenaries are more then obliging to help.
• Reforging will give player the chance to tweak their items stats and even add interesting particle effects.
• Got a good tradeskill under your belt? Then why not pay it forward by taking on an apprentice who can research new item recipes as well as XP.
• Alternative Advancement limit has also been increased to 300.

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There's no denying that the free-to-play games has become increasingly more popular in the West. Not only do we have new f2p IPs popping up all over the place, established subscri?ption games are going over to that model as well. Whil??e it's been predominant for a long time in parts of Asia, it's been a lot more controversial in the West. Fears of lack of balance or glorified demos have put some gamers off entirely.

Hot on the heels of SOE's announcement of DC Universe Online's imminent transformation to a f2p MMO, SOE President John Smedley has written an editorial predicting the death o??f the subscription model and the future of f2p.

Smedley believes that BioWare's upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, will be the last major subscription based MMO, he also thinks that it will have a legitimate shot at getting 2 million subscribers. He cites cost as one of the core reasons that subscriptions are on the way out as it is a big hurdle for some players. This isn't r?eally anything new, gamers have criticized continually paying for a game since MMO's took off, but the dominant game in the MMO genre is still subscription based. However, as the market has expanded there are plenty of options for those who don't want to pay to play.

Another issue with the increased market is console gamers. Outside of the Xbox LIVE subscription, console gamers don't really have to worry about extra costs unless they are purchasing new content. But the few MMOs which have made their way to consoles treat them the same way as they treat their PC counterparts. It's not just console gamers who have a problem with subscriptions. According to Smedley 40% of people who gave a reason for leaving Everquest II blamed subscriptions. Since changing to f2p the game saw an increase in players and has apparently been a success. Lord of the Rings Online is another example of this, Turbine got three times the revenue from the game when it went free and saw a significant increase in players.

By taking up front and subscription costs out of the equation there is no real barrier stopping curious consumer??s from giving the title a shot. By appealing to a global market including China and Korea where the model is already a success and by cutting out the retail middlemen which restrict indie studios, Smedley thinks that that market will increase even mo??re in terms of consumers and developers.

I'm a big proponent of f2p games. I don't actually play for free that often since I like to experience as much of a game as possible and so often end up paying for a premium membership. Regardless, I think that having that free option makes good business sense. It opens the game up to more people than a demo or a review can, it provides a big boost in sever populations, which when low can really ??cripple an MMO and it gives the consumer a lot more time to decide if they want to become a paying customer. Even in the cases where the free players are restricted rather severely, they are still getting more freedom than if they were playing a demo.

I don't think ??that it's as clear cut as Smedley makes it out to be, though. In games where community is so important I think it's risky to create a system where you get two different classes of player based on how much money they are willing to drop. It creates a divide in the community that isn't based on skill or any sort of in game mechanics. Even though hurdles such as cost have been removed, new ones have been put in their place.

What do you fine folks think the future holds for f2p titles? Will it become the dominant model for online games? Should it, even?

The Free Future [gamesindustry.biz]

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