Free Watch: Star Trek Online
For months, I have been writing about older MMOs and shooters being changed to the free-to-play business model. This trend doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon, and Star Trek Online, the middling Star Trek MMO from Cryptic Studios (creators of Champions Online), has switched to the free-to-play format.
Cryptic accomplished something similar with Champions Online back in January, so this announcement isn't quite as surprising as others have been. This isn't an immediate shift to free-to-play like others have been, however. Star Trek Online will be transitioning into the new business model over time, and it will be fully free-to-play by the end of the year. For now, that's all the information there is, though more will be announced next week, with pricing and execution strategy being revealed.
This is a pretty smart move from Crytpic, in my opinion. Lots of people were repelled from Star Trek Online due to the barrage of mediocre reviews, but free access will convince a lot more Star Trek fans to at least give it a shot. Only time will tell if this new strategy pays off for Cryptic, at the end of this year.
