DC Universe Online to Go F2P Next Month

Posted September 19, 2011  

Comment

Added Under NEWS | ACTION, MMORPG | International

DCUO

Superhero MMO going F2P in late October.

DC Universe Online is following in Champions Online and City of Heroes‘s footsteps and making the switch to free-to-play in late October, Sony Online Entertainment has announced. The free-to-play update will remove the one-time purchase and monthly subscription fees currently required to play the game.

“When we launched DC Universe Online, we introduced a very different brand of massive online game driven by fast action combat to PC and PS3 gamers and with that, we discovered a new type of online gamer,” said Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley. “We’ve listened to our community, and we’ve determined that the free-to-play model is the best fit for DC Universe Online.”

“Our philosophy embraces learning from our experience and as a pioneer in the free-to-play space with proven successful games like Free Realms and Clone Wars Adventures, we believe this new model will expand the DCUO experience and offer more options that cater to every type of player so they can play the game in a way that fits them.”

Similar to what GamersFirst is doing with Fallen Earth, DC Universe Online will also feature a multi-tier freemium model. Here’s a breakdown from Sony Online Entertainment:

• Free: New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

• Premium: Any player who has spent at least $5 USD (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

• Legendary: Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 USD monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

According to the free-to-play FAQ, former subscribers will automatically be granted a premium account at no cost. Current subscribers will be converted to a Legendary account and lifetime subscribers will get a lifetime Legendary account.

DC Universe Online launched earlier this year and is available for both Windows PC and PS3. For more information on the game’s free-to-play transition, check out the official free-to-play FAQ.

[ Discuss this news in the community forums ]

|
  • Cody

    How about PS3?

  • Cody

    Guess it's both, cool.

  • refaat

    omg i can't wait this is a dream^^

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000261672859 Broseidon Lordofthebrocean

    Mustve been a pretty good game if they already had to dump the subscription model

  • Cody

    it is a good game, free to play is the only way to go anymore.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000261672859 Broseidon Lordofthebrocean

    Then why are p2p games like WoW still going strong? There is still a very strong group of "p2p fanboys", if you will, so if a game is good enough and has enough content, they will continue to play. Most of these people are purist who wont even look at a f2p title so its not as if they quit playing DCUO to go play maplestory or something, they went back to their other subscription based games. Therefore it is logical to assume the game isnt that great and is failing due to that fact. P2p is still perfectly viable if you know how to run a game.

  • Cody

    WoW was out before F2P got big and everyone realized the benefits of it, So paying for the subscription was basically the only option for most games at that time. Alot of those "P2P fanboys" are people that still play WoW.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000261672859 Broseidon Lordofthebrocean

    Alot…but not all. When PSU's pc servers shut down, most players chose to jump to the japanese servers and continue paying for their game, in a different language nontheless. Im not denying the benefits of the f2p model, thats actually the only model I play, but if you can make a fun and attractive game thats worth paying for, people will pay. Hell, most people will pay to play for a good loot system alone, since most f2p games fail in this aspect.

  • Kakuri

    Selling powers through micro transaction sounds bad if you ask me.

  • Cody

    Sure people will pay, but the sheer demography that the F2P model reaches out too will in the end be the most important factor in the longevity of the game.

    Average new subscription game example, 1000 Users Online, which drops after each month normally.

    Compared to,

    New F2P game, 5000 Users Online free to try the game and continue if they like it, which more often then not leads to a lot of people spending more then the average monthly fee in itself, but for things they actually want to pay for to make their gameplay more beneficial and fun.

  • Cody

    But playing a game you like for free doesn't sound so bad, does it?

  • Kakuri

    I don't know if i will like this one, for instance how is the combat system? Do you control the character in real time in combat, or do you target the mobs and let your character do the job while you unleash their powers?
    A combat system like "Dragon Nest" and "Vindictus" is the way to go.

  • Jade

    This is a shameful attempt at manipulating unsuspecting players into joining. The "free-to-play" aspect prevents players from using the auction house, trading with each other and limits in-game cash to a very low amount.
    The game is essentially unplayable unless you fork out cash….in which case its not really free-to-play, is it?

  • Kakuri

    I agree, if your going to pay for powers so that your character can really level up, then there is no differences between their "free to play" model and "pay to play" model.

  • jeriet

    every free to play has restrictions maybe u should try

  • Cody

    OK so you will have trouble being rich in the game if you don't spend any money..or maybe there are ways around it..either way just try the game and then you can worry about the item mall.

  • Cody

    It's fun..even on PS3 it's like an RPG/action adventure Genre.

  • WooSaw

    Can't use the Auction house? This is preventing you from playing the game? How? The only thing the auction house is for is getting collectibles, thats it. If you're buying gear off the auction house to use, then you're playing the game wrong.

    I went to their website, and it doesn't even restrict your character in anyway, you get access to all current content, raids, duo, group missions, pvp, legends pvp, open world pvp.

    You only get 2 character slots, but if you pay 5 dollars (OMG, thats a lot of fucking money…) you get 6 slots.

    The game was extremely fun to play, it just came out just a few weeks before RIFT, and a lot of people hopped from DCUO to RIFT. I will be playing the shit out of DCUO when it comes out for free.

  • Jerry

    I can't wait to jump back into the game

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1678952036 Refaat Ajmi

    anyone know when its ganna be F2P in october ?

  • bionik evil

    just becuz wow can and has the power to do it none the less if you look at wow to any f2p game it has the most content and freedom none the less they have crazy expansions and patch caontent regularly but you will see that change come december when star wars the old rebuplic hits shelves

  • bionik evil

    me personally i dont care if i have to pay or not i spend just about as much cash in iteam malls as i do paying for wow that and i can actually afford to this

  • dfghjkl;

    yer i would also like to know ^^^^