DC Universe Online goes free to play

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 19 September, 2011

On PC and PlayStation 3.

In October superhero MMO DC Universe Online becomes free to play, Sony Online Entertainment has announced.

Both PC and PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to download and play the game for free, IGN reports.

Sony Online Entertainment said the decision was not a response to falling subscriber numbers, but admitted free-to-play was the company's preferred business model from launch.

"In terms of 'Is it a result in a drop in subs' - absolutely not," Lorin Jameson, SOE executive producer, insisted.

"This is the right business model. If I can be honest, the game ended up costing a lot more than we thought it would, and this was our preferred business model from day one."

Three versions of the game are available: free, premium and legendary. Free players have access to the current DC Universe Online gameplay, can create two characters and can join a league. You can buy game packs, additional character slots and powers through microtransactions.

Premium relates to any player who has spent at least $5 - that includes former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items. Premium players get more character slots, more inventory slots and higher cash limits.

And Legendary offers the maximum features. It costs $15 a month and includes all DLC packs at no cost, over 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots and the ability to form leagues.

Meanwhile, Sony Online Entertainment has ditched its automatic re-subscribe system based on fan feedback.

"I don't know about you, but my credit card statement every month is this amalgam of s*** of MMOs that I'm too lazy to cancel," Jameson said. "What we want is to offer people a way to not worry about that."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (46) Latest comment 8 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • cjb_bjc #1 8 months ago

    Well that didn't last long. Might give this a look now. So long as I don't need to buy a disc for £40!

  • DDevil #2 8 months ago

    Yeah. I might pick up a cheap 2nd hand xopy on PS3.

  • sheldipez #3 8 months ago

    Another one F2P.. the pay to play MMO is now extinct.. I bet Blizzards next MMO will be. They say it's not gonna compete with WoW so makes sense to have a side F2P MMO.

  • Whizzo #4 8 months ago

    You'll be able to download the client for nothing.

  • Eraysor #5 8 months ago

    "Sony Online Entertainment said the decision was not a response to falling subscriber numbers, but admitted free-to-play was the company's preferred business model from launch."

    Is this really fooling anyone?

  • HL706 #6 8 months ago

    Seriously, all you guys had to do was read the second paragraph ffs;

    "Both PC and PlayStation 3 gamers will be able to download and play the game for free"

  • abzddon #7 8 months ago

    @cjb_bjc
    Article says you can download and play the game for free.

  • sonicyoda #8 8 months ago

    But can you download and play it for free?

    /sarcasm

  • FeralGamer #9 8 months ago

    "In terms of 'Is it a result in a drop in subs' - absolutely not," Lorin Jameson, SOE executive producer, said.

    Bullshit

  • basiclee #10 8 months ago

    Well it'll certainly be worth taking a look at I'm sure, but I just can imagine really getting into it in all honesty.

  • thiagots85 #11 8 months ago

    for this price, I'll get it!

  • captain_Carl #12 8 months ago

    Bought it at launch and really loved it. Only thing that pushed me away was the hefty sub cost and the lack of people. Hopefully this will solve both of those problems

  • jetsetwillie #13 8 months ago

    no mention of this on their site yet. unless im going blind.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #14 8 months ago

    I enjoyed the beta but was not willing to commit to the monthly fee, will definitely give it a chance now.

  • Kami #15 8 months ago

    SOE may as well admit it - EU servers are deader than a dead freshly decapitated zombie. I'm going to assume US servers are the same. It never took off, it never had the customisation of Champions Online and far too often your "hero" was relegated to "sidekick", just not to make any of the comic artists cry when you can make a hero that kicks ten times more ass than anything they can create.

    Free to Play is a good step. But honesty, honesty, HONESTY! Just be honest with us. No need for this marketing PR crap that anyone with a single braincell can see straight through...

  • CaoSlayer #16 8 months ago

    It still freezes the ps3 every hour like it happened in the open beta one week before release?

    PD: Im not bashing the game, I just asking it because happened to me a lot in the three weeks the beta lasted. That and broken sound.
    Edited by CaoSlayer at 20/09/11 @ 15:17

  • Freek #17 8 months ago

    Sony Online Entertainment said the decision was not a response to falling subscriber numbers, but admitted free-to-play was the company's preferred business model from launch.

    I ran that statement through the bullshit-o-meter. It was so off the charts the device actually exploded.

  • Koozer #18 8 months ago

    "It costs $15 a month and includes all DLC packs at no cost..."

    Yeah that makes sense. Reminds me of a PA strip about "free" stuff with a PSN subscription.

  • riceNpea #19 8 months ago

    i may go back to this. Lesboto the lesbian, robot, villainous tank will live again!

  • Whatascoop #20 8 months ago

    Fantastic. The combat system was actually really fun for an MMO, but wasn't worth paying monthly for.

    Wonder if they've fixed half the glitches from January...

  • TruSmiles #21 8 months ago

    Nice, I really wanted to play a decent MMO on console, but wasn't really tempted by a Superhero one... But I'll definitely give this a go now :)

  • chuggy #22 8 months ago

    Wish I'd known this before I deleted all the data off my PS3. I just hope I can free up the space by the time it goes free to play again!

  • King_Edward #23 8 months ago

    Sweet. Free game. :)

  • TheTingler #24 8 months ago

    Excellent, will consider this now.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #25 8 months ago

    If they made all these MMO's F2P in the first place they might get large enough numbers at launch to gain some forward momentum.

    They just can't resist the small (impossible) chance that their MMO might be the one to take over from WoW and have 13 million people paying a monthly fee. They should just be realistic and they might get a nice little earner out of some of these MMOs.

    Even WoW wouldn't get away with it's fleecing of customers if it launched nowadays.

    Greedy cunts, the lot of them.

  • IronGiant #26 8 months ago

    Sold!

  • gm914 #27 8 months ago

    Never really got into superhero games.
    Can someone tell me; are we able to create and name our own superhero, or are we just playing with a preset list?

  • Pocketgrandpa #28 8 months ago

    anyone know how many players are usually online at peak times at the mo?

  • Wendelius #29 8 months ago

    Beyond the why's, this is actually an opportunity.

    I played it for a month or 2 and it's tons of fun at least for that time. You get to imagine and create silly heroes or villains. And then you get to play a game that deviates from the "press a button, wait for cooldown" mould. DCUO rewards move combos and good positioning. Also, you get to fly / jump / run like The Flash around 2 cities.

    So, for the price of nothing, I'd certainly encourage those who haven't tried DCUO yet to log in in October. You might actually enjoy it.

  • Ferral #30 8 months ago

    Guild Wars suceeded a few years ago with no monthly subs, surely other MMO's can survive in the same way.

    Buy the game and then basically you dont have to pay anything else. This way you get all the content, just buy expansions when they land. Granted there is an online store for GW which has a few quest packs which basically fill in the back story. It has worked well though.

  • gm914 #31 8 months ago

    @Wendelius
    thanks

  • Shikasama #32 8 months ago

    That Premium option is a good idea to get lapsed subscribers back.

  • stegabba #33 8 months ago

    thank god as i got it on launch day then never got a sub untl last month, and not much has changed ewxcept the population is very low now, i wasnt planning on another sub but free to play now were talking

  • Popolon #34 8 months ago

    My subscription ended last month, so this i good news.

    I didn't want to pay for a MMO where I was alone most of the time.
    Game itself is quite lovely though, so if more people join I certainly will be coming back.

    Good, but little late move.

  • George-Roper #35 8 months ago

    Coudnt have been more obvious that this would tank. It's SOE. They are shit.

    To all those interested in F2P, dont waste your bandwidth. You will be met with the cash shop being thrust in your face with everything you try and do. EQ2 F2P was well over the frustration threshold.

    SOE, just fuck off and fold, ok?

  • castertroy #36 8 months ago

    BRILL WAS WAITING FOR THIS TO GO FREE TO PLAY. :)

  • dirtysteve #37 8 months ago

    Might go back to this so, it didn't really have enough to keep me interested past the first month, at least not for a subscription.

  • Whitster #38 8 months ago

    Being DC doe's this count as a reboot?

    Crisis on Infinite Servers?

  • captain_Carl #39 8 months ago

    You don't get trophies unless you pay top subscription

  • CraigMcG #40 8 months ago

    wonder what they'll do for the US PC gamers who bought the lifetime subscription?

  • ghearoid #41 8 months ago

    Nice. I'll give it a go just so I can whiz around as The Flash!

  • icematt12 #42 8 months ago

    Hands up if you are shocked by this news.
    ...
    ...
    ...
    Anyone?

  • RodHull #43 8 months ago

    Worth every penny.

  • HarryMasonHerpderp #44 8 months ago

    So is this game free? ;^D

  • rockavitch #45 8 months ago

    @captain_Carl
    Is this true? I'm one of those trophy hunting types, for me it prolongs the game and gains me an extra playthrough, and with an MMO the trophy system is ideal in my opinion. If this is the case I wonder if it'll still load the trophy list and leave me at a 0% like Super Stardust demo did for my friend. I like my list looking full so if that's the case I'll play it on another account, no big deal really as it's FREE so obviously I'll check it out but be good to know in advance.

    Edit: Also for anyone who has played it can you have electric powers because I'm quite addicted to the inFamous series right now and I'd be interested in popping out a "me" with said powers.
    Edited by rockavitch at 20/09/11 @ 07:44

  • Tonne #46 8 months ago

    maybe ill check the game now, i just didnt think it was worth the subscription fee seeing how i have a fulltime job and a social life