Star Trek Online Goes F2P and 2 Others Hit Beta

 

Cryptic and Perfect World Entertainment have announced that they plan to make Star Trek Online free-to-play (F2P) by the end of the year.  This was not unexpected as their other game, Champions Online, went F2P earlier this year.  What is unexpected is the fast time-frame they plan to roll out the model change – less than six months.

The model will likely be similar to Champions with a freemium plan in which players can start out for free, but to reach upper-level content and in-game bonuses, a subscription will be required.

To go with the Cryptic announcement, another game maker, GamEyez, has announced that it’s client-based MMO Blade of Destiny is now in open beta (as of September 5) and its planned turn-based RPG Carian will go into open beta later this year.

Blade of Destiny is based on the Yin and Zhou dynasties of China and contains quests, monster battles, and zone-wide battles (warfare) between dynasties or rival factions within them.

Carian will be a browser-based RPG as a “carian” – monster tamer. Both games can be accessed through the GamEyez site.