Everquest II goes Free-to-Play

Sony's long-running MMORPG finally becomes free-to-play, at least in part, with EverQuest II Extended.

It's been almost six years since the sequel to EverQuest launched, and after a long run as a monthly-fee MMORPG, Sony Online Entertainment introduced a new business model this week.

EverQuest II Extended is an alternate version of the MMO, and is free-to-play. Extended includes the core EverQuest II game and its first five expansions, so the only expansion lacking is the most recent, Sentinel's Fate. There are additional membership levels in Extended, some of which include monthly fees, but the lowest level still allows you to play the entirety of EQ2 and those five expansions.

This is the second major MMO to announce a free-to-play change in recent days, after Turbine decided to make The Lord of the Rings Online free as well. But SOE has not abandoned the old business model; the original EverQuest II with fees still runs on different servers, and will continue operating alongside Extended.

If players choose to upgrade their free membership to one of the three higher levels, they will unlock additional features. These include more character slots, playable races and classes, and social options like creating guilds and sending mail. Check out all the differences with SOE's membership matrix.

For more info on Extended, check the official site.