Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Champions Online Goes Free To Play (For A Week)
With MMOs as big as EverQuest II and Lord of the Rings Online experimenting with new free-to-play models, we've all wondered who will be next to dump subscription fees in favor of a microtransaction-based system. It looks like Cryptic's superhero MMO Champions Online will be giving it a shot...for one week only.
To help celebrate the game's one year anniversary, it will be 100% free to download and play with no apparent restrictions from September 1 until September 7. You don't need even need to have purchased a copy of the game or have a lapsed account -- anyone can play for free for a week beginning tomorrow.
In addition to the influx of new people checking the game out, Cryptic is offering 20% off "nearly everything" in the Cryptic Store, which has various costume and emblem packs as well as other account bonuses up for purchase. There will also be an in-game event in Millennium City to commemorate the anniversary.
If you'd like to spend some of your Labor Day weekend giving Champions Online a shot, you can head over to the official website and begin downloading the game now.
Given some of Cryptic's previous comments about being open to taking their games free-to-play, it's possible that this week-long event is also a test to gauge interest if the game were to go that way more permanently. Anyone interested enough to take advantage of the free week?
[via Massively]
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
