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Despite the massive rise in free-to-play MMOs over the last few years, free-to-play publisher Turbine, the people behind the successful Lord of the Rings Online, states subscription MMOs are not dying.
Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, head of Warner digital communications – the company that owns Turbine – Adam Warner explained that it is however an antiquated model.
“People now in the West expect to have full control over their entertainment dollar and spend it the way they want to.
“It’s probably not right to say the subscription MMO is dying, it’s probably more right to say the idea of forcing a player to only have one option for having to consume your content – that’s probably dying. “
Turbine helped to establish free-to-play in the West when they adopted the model for Dungeons & Dragons Online, having since become one of the fastest growing publishers in the world.
So far the free-to-play model seems to be standard for MMOs struggling to find a wide enough fanbase, however with the closure of titles like LEGO Universe today it’s clear that free is not a fix-all method.
