EverQuest II going free-to-play

By Oli Welsh Published 28 July, 2010

Original subs service to continue, too.

EverQuest II is the latest subscription MMO to jump on the free-to-play bandwagon. Sony Online Entertainment has announced that it's to launch a free service called EverQuest II Extended later this year.

A beta test for Extended is expected to begin "on or around" 17th August.

The original subscription offering will continue alongside this new service. Extended will provide access to all EverQuest II's content through free and optional paid membership levels. By and large - with the exception of the last expansion Sentinel's Fate - content is free, but features are restricted by level.

There are four levels of membership. Bronze is free; Silver is a one-time $10 purchase; Gold is a $15 monthly membership subscription; and Platinum is $200 for a year.

Only Platinum members can access the latest expansion Sentinel's Fate. All levels have access to four races, with the remaining being purchasable. Bronze and Silver can access eight classes for free, Gold and Platinum get all of them. All but Platinum members will have to pay to extende the level cap from 80 to 90.

Across the membership tiers, there are varying restrictions to equipment grades, character slots, bag slots, the amount of gold you can hold per level, whether you can send and receive mail, how many quests you can have active and the level of customer service support available to you.

Extended will feature a new web-based download application that will circumvent the need for a huge download or installation before you start playing. An in-game store will sell potions, armour, character classes and races, weapons, mounts and more.

SOE is promising improvements to character progression, graphics and user interface across both versions of the game.

The move follows SOE's launch of its free kids' MMO Free Realms, as well as Turbine's success moving Dungeons & Dragons Online to a free-to-play model and recent decision to do the same with The Lord of the Rings Online.

Check out the EverQuest II Extended website for more information.

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #1 2 years ago

    I just spat a ton of coffee all over my keyboard when I saw this - THIS is surpising and VERY un-SOE considering it's their core IP.

    If they don't spin it too far into the 'gimped if you don't cashshop' area, I can see this game increasing in popularity pritty fast, between the cardgame, the RP, crafting, and my poor abandonded Frogloc, I'm going to watch this very closely

  • darkmorgado #2 2 years ago

    Hang on, what?

    So they are charging $200 up-front just to get access to an expansion pack?

    This seems utterly stupid and will actually work out more expensive for an existing subscriber if they switch to this model. Paying $15 a month sub and THEN having to fork out even more just to send bloody in-game mail?

    Scandalous. F*cking scandalous.

    This sounds like the perfect example of how *not* to do F2P. I hope it crashes miserably.

  • Azzuri #3 2 years ago

    I never really got into EQII but will give it a go once the beta launches. I'm more an EQ1 fan and would live to see that go F2P but I dont think it will as anyone still playing it is obviously happy enough to pay to play it.

  • ukdm #4 2 years ago

    You only have to look at the success of Free Realms to see why this is being considered. Last I heard Free Realms had a user base of over 10 million, even if a small subset of those players are purchasing virtual goods its profitable for Sony. Everquest, with its already large user base and well-known name will likely do very well from this switch.

  • Kami #5 2 years ago

    "Only Platinum members can access the latest expansion Sentinel's Fate. All levels have access to four races, with the remaining being purchasable. Bronze and Silver can access eight classes for free, Gold and Platinum get all of them. All but Platinum members will have to pay to extende the level cap from 80 to 90."

    This is so typical of SOE. They just can't help themselves sometimes, this is yet another case that shows they don't understand their target market. No-one, regardless of how big a fan they are, will pay £200 up-front for a years access to an MMO just to get "free" access to an expansion. Anyone that does needs to have a visit from the lovely fluffy men in white coats! Maybe you can drive to Mars in your little car whilst singing Poker Face with a bunch of drunken leprechauns whilst you're at it...

    (Note to Kremlik - from article, quoting directly, "Only Platinum members can access the latest expansion Sentinel's Fate." So it does appear only Platinum access will get you access to the expansion, which is... well, an even more horrendously bad idea.)

    F2P is a good idea, EQ2 has been dying a slow, slow death for some time now. It needs some jolt to bring it back to life, I just think this jolt is probably more likely to vaporise the corpse than get the heart beating again... which is sad, because for my brief time in EQ2, it's a lovely world. It deserves better than this.
    Edited by 2 at 28/07/10 @ 10:37

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #6 2 years ago

    @Kammi and Dark - what EG doesn't say is that the orginal EQ2 format will still continue as normal, unlike Turbine who are replacing it's current system with LOTRO, EQ2 and 'Extended' are two sperate games, so if you are a current/old EQ2 player that 'plat only' expansion is still accessable as normal on the orginal servers

    (@kami - I thought is was a error by EG as it wasn't noted in either the FAQ or table - however I did find it in the small print thus retracting my orginal comment)
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/10 @ 10:42

  • login_name #7 2 years ago

    This wouldn't be so bad if the Gold service was the same as a standard sub. As it is, it's stupid. The restrictions on Bronze and Silver are far too severe to fully enjoy the game and would eventually "force" you to pay for Gold (Platinum is pointless).

    SOE's "me too" attitude is what kills off their games. Just do your own thing and do it well. Stop trying to copy everyone else ffs, you always make a pigs ear out of it.

  • Kami #8 2 years ago

    Hmm, well, why have a F2P model like this if the old servers are going to run? I'm not entirely sure I see the point. Turbine have a subs model as well, which gives you access to all premium "expansion content" plus a chunk of points every month to spend on items as you see fit - which often works out cheaper and a much better incentive.

    If you're going to run the subs, run it within the F2P angle. Amazingly, DDO does get the balance spot on. It's still a tough game to like for me personally but the structure, the pricing and the perks for signing up are all there. It's a perfect model to follow, and being copied to LOTR:o is just going to make that game a far sweeter deal as well.

    Sony Online Entertainment have a shocking track record when it comes to understanding its userbase and the mood of the market. Really, and truly, shocking. I don't see how this helps and I don't see the point if they're so unwilling to get all their users into the new system. Those people are the prime candidates for spending a little extra dosh in the in-game shop. Buying a few extra credits. A couple more perks. They've stuck with the game that long, they've probably buttered up in preperation for this.

    It's confusing is all. It's not going forward, it's not wanting to step back, it's kind of "we'll announce it and see what people think". Look at DDO, Sony. Look at it. Look at how much it makes. Look and understand why it's a clever F2P model, because it really IS a clever F2P model. And it revived a game most of us had written off, and looks to repeat the same with Lord of the Rings: Online. Just get everyone into the new system and work out a reasonable pricing scheme, because hedging your bets in a market like this one is just a bad idea... I don't see the point of running both seperately, surely that's going to be more expensive to SoE in the long run?
    Edited by 1 at 28/07/10 @ 11:03

  • urbanrider #9 2 years ago

    I've had a quick login with the alpha and comparing it with the Lotro item store I do prefer the eq2 one. In lotro you can buy permanent though slight, upgrades to stats- I'm not a fan.

    However anything above bronze in eq2 is priced ridiculously. Nevertheless you get all the quests and zones of the original game and 4 expansions- that is hugely better value than lotro which charges for all quests outside of a few level 1-20 zones.

    I will be watching both carefully but for a new player who has no interest in paying beyond the minimum amount possible I'd recommend eq2. If you pay a regular subscription I'd recommend lotro

  • ukdm #10 2 years ago

    Gold costs $179.98 per year
    Platinum costs $200 per year

    So you are paying $20 extra to play the latest expansions and get a level 90 cap. That doesn't seem too bad does it?

    The paying upfront is a bit rubbish, but Sony is just protecting the cost of the expansion right?

  • login_name #11 2 years ago

    @Kami

    Apparently, the reason for this to be isolated from the regular subs is due to the moaning on the forums about bringing a F2P "buy to win" system into their game. An existing subscriber is able to copy their character to the new F2P system however they are charged for it.

  • Shikasama #12 2 years ago

    It's like someone sat don and thought really hard about the most ridiculous pricing model that could possibly be conceived.

    In a way you have to admire that

  • tenebrae #13 2 years ago

    Two hundred dollars for a year's VIP membership? Oh lawl, in LotRO a lifetime membership (for those who don't pay in £ or €) costs $300, which means everything for free, forever, besides large expansions. While their move to F2P model to rescue the franchise is commendable, at least on superficial glance their execution is lacking.

  • tenofspades #14 2 years ago

    well I'd be tempted to try the free version again. Only because some of the areas looked nice, the game pretty much sucked.

  • George-Roper #15 2 years ago

    SOE are not market leaders, they're just another follower trailing at the back. Hence the reason this is so poorly thought out.

    No confidence in the company whatsoever.

  • shikz #16 2 years ago

    what happens if someone whos been away for 3 years .... can re activate our accounts with our old chars etc ?

    anyone know this please ?

    cheers

  • Kami #17 2 years ago

    Apparently, the reason for this to be isolated from the regular subs is due to the moaning on the forums about bringing a F2P "buy to win" system into their game.

    The same happened in DDO as I recall, but most people agreed after a while it was the right way to do it.

    EQ2 wants to go F2P, it needs to go the whole hog, not do a half-assed job. Though sadly, half-assed jobs seem to be what SOE excell at these days...

  • Averice #18 2 years ago

    So effectively nothing changed but the payment plan options? I wouldn't call it f2p until you can hit max level cap without paying a dime, and there's micro transactions involved. As it is, it looks more like an unlimited trial than a f2p.

  • xenoss #19 2 years ago

    This is unethical.

    The only people who are most likely to care about the latest expansion are the EQ2 fans who stood by the game throughout the years, who have seen and done most of the old content.

    $200 a year is the "reward" for their loyalty? Really? Just as the rest of the world can start playing for free, they are getting shafted.

    One can get a Wii for $200. And more than a year's worth of WoW.

    Or even, play 1 of the other F2P games out there (there are a lot of good ones now), or even the Pay2Play-turned-F2P games like DDO. $200 is way more than enough to get a good load of fun in any of those.

    GG, SOE. GG. The gaming industry need to re-learn the meaning of greed; because this isn't greed. This is just madness.

  • levitate #20 2 years ago

    I bought an EQII bundle together with an expansion from HMV and the key had already been used. SOE couldn't help me with it either. That'll teach me to ever trust shit companies ever again.