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The Old Republic May Go Entirely Free-To-Play
We found out during E3 last week that The Old Republic's first 15 levels are going to be playable without the need to sign up for the game's monthly fee, but according to Emmanuel Lusinchi, the game's lead designer, that may just be the beginning of TOR's experimentation in the world of free-to-play gaming.
In an interview with GamesTM, Lusinchi said that the games that are starting to appear in the free-to-play landscape are increasing in quality, which means more competition for TOR. “The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well," Lusinchi says. "Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.”
It doesn't so much sound like BioWare is planning to switch the game to the free-to-play model, as much as BioWare is expressing a willingness to adapt. Making the first 15 levels of the game playable for free, though, is certainly a good sign.
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