Wed, Dec 12, 2012 | 11:53 GMT
Secret World scraps subscription fees, but still isn’t entirely free-to-play
The Secret World developer FunCom has ditched the game’s subscription model. Consumers simply have to buy the game once and then use it freely, before paying to add new content into the mix. Get the details below.
Eurogamer reports that while subscriptions have been ditched, optional paid DLC packs will be rolling out from January, the first of which will be free to anyone registering this month. There will also be free packs peppered here and there.
You can also sign up for a paid membership tier at $15 a month which nets you time accelerators for spurts of double XP, bonus points that can be spent in the item store, mystery gifts each month and a 10% discount on store goods.
You can go one higher and opt for a ‘Grand Master Lifetime’ subscription that gives you a 20% in the store, whiel anyone with remaining subscription time wil get 1,200 free store points, a Time Accelerator boost and a special free gift – although it’s not clear what that is.
What do you make of the subscription drop? Let us know below.
14 
Posted in: MMO, PC
Tags: funcom, the secret world
14 comments
#1
Ireland Michael
12/12/12, 12:16 pm
That didn’t take long.
#2
Hcw87
12/12/12, 12:22 pm
Well seeing as the world ends next Friday, they won’t exactly lose much revenue by making it F2P.
#3
Ireland Michael
12/12/12, 12:23 pm
@2 MAYBE THAT WAS THEIR PLAN ALL ALONG! OH MY GOD! EVERYONE GET TO YOUR BUNKERS!
#4
deathm00n
12/12/12, 12:24 pm
But do I need to buy the game yet?
#5
Ireland Michael
12/12/12, 12:27 pm
@4 Yes you do.
Think of it like Guild Wars 2, but with mini expansions every so often instead of one big expansion every year or so.
#6
NeoSquall
12/12/12, 1:24 pm
This is great news, anyway Funcom said a while ago that they could ditch subscriptions if they wanted:
“That said we definitely have the tools to turn The Secret World into a free-to-play game – or even hybrid – should we decide to do that somewhere down the line. We did that with Age of Conan with significant success.”
#7
Sylrissa
12/12/12, 2:32 pm
It should of been this way from the beginning, this was never going to make it as a sub game.
However I’d be happy to pay a one time box fee and play it whenever the mood strikes like GW2.
#8
Puggy
12/12/12, 2:52 pm
Well, like all games it was nice first, but somehow got boring when you hit a road block and have to start grinding… :/
I do not mind grinding (doing the same quests repeatedly for leveling also counts a such) if I get it for free, but am not going to pay for it.
#9
OlderGamer
12/12/12, 3:03 pm
I am not sure why they didn’t just do it like this from the get go, I agree with you guys.
#10
roadkill
12/12/12, 3:41 pm
@9 Because they’re arrogant and stupid.
#11
TheWulf
12/12/12, 4:33 pm
@11
As depressing as that is, that’s likely nearly the correct answer. I wouldn’t mind betting that this backpedal from subscriptions is greed-related. Now that the subscriber numbers are dying off, they want to make the game an open door system, so they can at least get some money from the cash shop.
#12
Ireland Michael
12/12/12, 4:40 pm
Obviously the reason they’re doing this is so they can finally reveal the truth about the end of the world to us all before the apocalypse arrives! This is clearly the final master plan that the Illuminati has been working towards for centuries!
#13
NeoSquall
12/12/12, 5:02 pm
@13 No!
The people must not be informed about the impending doom, not while we can fight and contain it.
One man might understand the truth, if given enough information, but people as a whole are stupid, they can’t and won’t understand!
/signed with a cross
#14
Ireland Michael
12/12/12, 5:05 pm
@14 A wizard did it.