SOE: PlanetSide 2 Adopting 'Free-To-Play' Model

Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has confirmed that the upcoming sequel to massively multiplayer shooter PlanetSide will be available to play at no cost. Following an an interview with Chinese MMO site 17173.com, Smedley clarified to the PlanetSide Universe forums that the game will be free-to-play. Regarding monetization specifics, Smedley mentioned that he "liked League of Legends a lot," hinting that PlanetSide 2 game might follow that title's model of selling permanent access to certain characters and skins. Smedley also corrected a mistranslation from the Chinese interview that said the game would include an auction house like the one recently unveiled for Blizzard's upcoming Diablo III. "I said I liked [the auction house idea] and thought it would help with farmers and that we were doing it years ago with Station Exchange, [but] it has nothing to do with PlanetSide 2 whatsoever." Smedley also said he expects the game's planned beta, first announced in July, to hit later this year or early next year. Monthly subscriptions for the original PlanetSide currently run $12.99, though the company ran a year-long free-to-play promotion for the game starting in March 2006. Subscriptions peaked around 60,000 players in late 2003, according to data from MMOGChart.com.