Spellborn MMO to go free-to-play

By Oli Welsh Published 1 July, 2009

"Re-development" for relaunch in 2010.

The Chronicles of Spellborn, an independently-developed MMO which launched late last year, is to be re-developed as a free-to-play game supported by micro-transactions.

Its US and UK publisher Acclaim made the announcement, but Frogster, the publisher for most of mainland Europe, is also involved. Frogster's Asian studio in South Korea will collaborate with developer Spellborn NV on the change.

Frogster has had some success with its Taiwanese free-to-play import Runes of Magic recently. The news also follows hot on the heels of Turbine's decision to move Dungeons & Dragons Online from a subscription to a free-to-play model.

A Frogster post on the game's European forums suggests that the free-to-play version of Chronicles of Spellborn won't launch until 2010, and that the subscription game will be kept running until that time.

The move follows the bankruptcy (in Dutch) of Spellborn Works BV, a subsidiary company of Spellborn NV that apparently served as employer of the development team.

Here's hoping the move to free-to-play can save The Chronicles of Spellborn financially and attract more players to the game, because we loved it at review, awarding 8/10 for its unique fantasy universe and intriguing combat system.

Picture of Oli.

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.

You may also like...

Comments (6) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #1 3 years ago

    It's a shame as for a fantasy MMO it actally gave us something unique..

    Kinda irronic really with the net flooded with complaints aboutr 'clones' they still get supported far more then any game trying to break free from the 'copy paste' deving - Granted like Fury and TR, Spellborn had it's launch issues (and publisher issues yet AGAIN) but I think these days with the market flooded with MMOs you HAVE to have a near perfect start (which is impossible even if you throw millions at it or spend 7 years making it) otherwise the bad press spreads like wildfire...

    I miss the days when MMOs used to be 'geeky'

  • collateral89 #2 3 years ago

    i c dead ppl

  • manveruppd #3 3 years ago

    Another great game ruined by crap publishing decisions. the French, Belgian and German versions of the game from the rest of the world was disastrous, as it prevented a lot of people from playing with their friends and discouraged them from playing.

  • Darkjinxter #4 3 years ago

    Ye canny polish a turd, which Dave Perry has dumped on the world.
    Edited by 1 at 01/07/09 @ 23:40

  • Darkjinxter #5 3 years ago

    @ Kremlik
    I do enjoy my MMOS. It's all I play nowadays, but Spellborn was just rubbish, clunky interface, clunky combat. It's now like Dave Perry's minions didn't have an example ot a good MMO interface to studdy before making their own.
    You mention TR in your post. TR was far and away a better experience than the train wreck that was Acclaim's Spellborn.
    And if there is a future for geeky MMOs it will not come from companies blindly following the 10-level progression model. No doubt Dave will announce an 'innovative' MMO soon, groundbreaking, streaming to yer Sky+ box perhaps...

  • Roxette #6 3 years ago

    Its good that it goes free. Paying was too much for this game. Its on a lower level compared to several other games like GW, Lotro, AoC or Warhammer. But if its free to play, then it might be worth something.
    I played many MMO games, TR including. Indeed, TR was much better than Spellborn. Unfortunately that one was taken off. But now its the waiting for Aion and GW2. Let us see what those games bring.