Free Realms to break 4m users soon

By Robert Purchese Published 29 June, 2009

This week, says creative director.

Free Realms creative director Laralyn McWilliams expects the kids' MMO to reach the 4 million-user mark this week, as teens and tweens flock to the cartoon world that launched in April.

Speaking to Eurogamer Germany at the SOE Fan Faire, McWilliams said those numbers should keep rising as the company creates content like Soccerstar, a mini-game that has power-ups and a new job, and will be available next summer.

Since launch, Free Realms has received story quests, guild features and ghost pets.

Free Realms players will soon even be able to make a Trading Card out of their character. You need only send Sony Online Entertainment a picture of your character and, a few weeks later, a card with an exclusive code from the game will arrive on your doorstep.

Head over to our Free Realms review to find out more.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (7) Latest comment 3 years ago

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  • Raziel #1 3 years ago

    Wasn't this coming to the PS3 too?
    That should give a boost in users.

  • Triggerhappytel #2 3 years ago

    Is it wierd that I might buy this when it's out on PS3? I have very little interest in traditional grindfest MMORPGs on PC, but a lite version on consoles might appeal to me.

    Well, I'll certainly check it out, when it finally comes out on PS3.

  • DrRobotnik #3 3 years ago

    what I find telling is the way each announcement is worded by Sony.

    4 Million users does not necessarily translate into 'active' users, merely 'created accounts'. I'm curious as to how many of those accounts are still playing after a week or so.

    Also, Sony have Miniclip to thank for most of these accounts. FreeRealms was pimped on that site for weeks after its release (and still is, to some extent). That site has so many users at least half of all accounts would have likely been created through them.

  • JediMasterMalik #4 3 years ago

    I'm sure most free MMOs use those numbers to make their game seem more played then it actually is. Still, from what I've heard and read it's one of the best free MMOs around.

  • iokthemonkey #5 3 years ago

    It's not just the free ones who use those numbers.

    As for Free Realms, it's okay but they need to add more variety in each job. For a game supposedly intended for kids (and their short attention-spans) the game becomes repetitive very quickly, which is a shame, as the presentation and fun - when you can find it - make for a great little game.

  • DFawkes #6 3 years ago

    I still bloody love this. It does get old like any MMO does, but I like being able to jump in and out without having to pay for it. Though I have bought some stuff in-game, like a dog called Sparky :)

    Even for sign-ups that's a pretty good number. As people have said, active users will be lower but there'll always be people on, even if only 1% of people stick with it that's still 40000 over a few servers, more than enough to keep it open at least. The TCG in particular makes the Magic the Gathering XBLA game feel a bit like a rip-off, what with it being free and allowing deck building.

    I created a Eurogamer guild if anyone is interested. Though no-one is :p

  • gammonbanter #7 3 years ago

    Sony and their figures!!! Each account counts, even if 1 person has 12 accounts! Will defo give this a bash when it comes out for the PS3 - when is that!