Over a decade after launching, the sci-fi based MMO EVE Online is going free to play in November. Developer CCP Games announced the changes the game will see yesterday in a press release which also detailed the games next big update.
In November, players will be separated into two different tiers: "OMEGA Clones" and "ALPHA Clones". Omega clones will apply to accounts that have an existing EVE Online subscription. This will give players access to the entire game and all of its contents and features. Alpha clones, however, will have a more limited, very specific set of skills, weapons, and ships that they have access to. Alpha players who want the full game experience will be able to upgrade to an Omega account level.
CCP Games has stated that this decision to add a free element has been "a long time coming..." with the waning playerbase, the new free tier is designed to bring in new players and entice those fans who may have given other titles a try.
We've been doing everything we can to bring more people into our spectacular sandbox...part of our vision for the future of EVE has included more open access for some time, but with the interconnected nature of the game comes vulnerability. We knew if the floodgates were opened in the wrong way, we could see anything from server meltdowns to the collapse of the EVE economy...
The new development update video can be seen below. There is no specific launch date for the free to play version of EVE Online yet, but we will keep you updated as soon as we get more information from CCP Games.
Once again, EVE Online is going free to play sometime this November on PC.