The free-to-play online model has been hugely successful in Asia, but it's becoming increasingly common in the West as well. The latest example of free-to-play success is Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, which Turbine announced today has attracted over one million players since launching as a free game last September.
Turbine first announced that it was taking the game free last June. Although it remains free, players can still opt-in for a paid subscription, which grants additional bonuses and "unlimited access" in the game. The company said that the "massive influx of new players has been across all of the various consumer plans available," and that the game's paid subscriber base has more than doubled. Furthermore, Turbine noted that players are "transacting in the new DDO store at three times the industry average, growing the franchise’s revenue over 500% since its launch in September."
“The response from players to DDO Unlimited has been nothing short of phenomenal,” said Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. “We’ve known all along how great this game is and by implementing an innovative new model that put the players in charge of how they pay and play DDO Unlimited, we’ve successfully expanded our reach and injected new energy into the game. Without a doubt, DDO Unlimited is a hit!”
Having originally launched the game as Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach with publisher Atari back in 2006, Turbine is now celebrating four years of its D&D MMO and couldn't be happier with the new momentum its gained with free-to-play. “The launch of DDO Unlimited has been a huge success and has really taken the game to a new level,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited. “As we celebrate our 4th birthday, the game has never been better and we’re just getting started with more adventure packs, more store items, and other innovative features coming in the major updates we have planned throughout 2010.”
