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Funcom have announced a very unique offer to drum up interest in their massive online role-playing game; they’ve decided to scrap subscription fees until January, 2006. That’s right; you can download and play on the live servers, for free, for over a whole year.
In an ambitious move, Funcom President and CEO Trond Arne Aas said “This unique move will allow us to test important new business models prior to announcing future online games,”
Project Director Ole Schreiner added “We feel very confident in the unique features and heralded qualities of our game and are now openly inviting everyone playing [massively multiplayer online games] to find out what Anarchy Online is all about, completely free of commitment,”
Another bonus is that you no longer need a credit card in order to sign up; simply head over to the website, download the game and register before January 15th 2005 and you’ll be able to enjoy the world of Rubi-Ka along with thousands of others. Note, however, that this offer applies only to the original game; expansion packs (of which there are three) are still subscription based, and will require payment for you to access.
Competition in the world of MMORPG’s is getting fierce, what with World of Warcraft and Matrix Online to be coming to our shores early next year, Everquest I & II already doing well and Guild Wars to offer alternative free online role-playing, this could well be a very smart move by Funcom to whip up some interest (and hopefully new subscribers) in the aging title. So, if you want to try a MMORPG without any risk, be sure to check it out.
