Dungeons and Dragons Online announced this week that they are changing their business model.  Since it launched in 2006, DDO never really caught on, but had maintained a solid (and moderately profitable) player base for a number of years.  Later this summer a modified version of DDO, DDO Unlimited, will launch.  When this happens, instead of charging the standard subscription fee, players will be able to play the game for free.  A closer look at this “free” business model reveals a few surprises, however.  The bottom line is that this new model is innovative, but it’s also complicated.  Also, (shockingly!) this free-to-play game isn’t entirely free.

Here’s the skinny:

• There are now two tiers of players – the VIP players, who pay the $14.99 monthly fee.  Then there are the free to play (FTP) players, who pay nothing.

• All players can now buy Turbine points.  These points are used to purchase in-game items from NPCs.  Every month, the VIP players receive 500 Turbine points for free, along with a number of other small benefits.

• FTP players will require a gem to level up, approximately every 4 levels.  This gem can be quested for, but that requires a time commitment.  If they prefer – here’s the catch – they can buy this leveling gem from an NPC for a small number of Turbine points.

• A similar system works for accessing a few select dungeons and other areas of the game.  An NPC will ask free players for an access gem.  They can quest for the gem, or purchase one for Turbine points.

• When new Modules are released for DDO, the VIP players get immediate access to the new content.  FTP players have the choice of buying access to this module or not.

• According to Turbine, more is available at the DDO Store:  “The DDO Store is a vendor within DDO Unlimited, where you can spend your hard-fought points or real, hard-earned dollars (if you wish) to enhance your gaming experience…the store offers a bevy of convenience items, in addition to premium adventure packs, extra character slots, hirelings, potions, unique character customization, and much more than this page will allow us to list!”

• Apparently, FTP players do have access to the a very significant portion of the game for free, if they are willing to do the quests to unlock the new areas.

There are alot more details after the jump!

As you can see, the whole idea is to get FTP players into the game, where they can play at their leisure and for no cost.  However, they can level faster and get access to ‘exclusive’ areas of the game if they choose to unlock the content by spending Turbine points.  In our exploring what, precisely, is and is not available to the FTP players, we found that FTP players cannot play Monks, Warforged, or Drow characters unless they pony up some Turbine points.  They also get only 2 character slots (as opposed to 10 for VIPs).  VIPs also get improvements to chat, auctions, mail, gold storage, customer service, queue times, and beta priority.  There were also indicators that there is a lot of free content at the lower levels, but less and less as FTP players level up.  The idea seems to be to tempt the FTP players into becoming VIPs as they level up.

Will this model work?  Personally, I love the idea.  It will certainly entice a whole new set of players into the game, and the FTP model is traditionally very appealing to younger (generally teenage and pre-teen) players.  This might bring new life into this aging MMO.  However, whenever an MMO goes FTP, it raises the hairs on the back of my neck a bit.  So often in the past, it has served as the death-knell of a game (Shadowbane, anyone?), indicating that subscriptions are way down, and that the developer is willing to try anything to keep this baby alive.  Having said that, this FTP model is unique and innovative.  You never know – it may very well turn DDO into the next Runescape.

As always, opinions and experiences vary, and your comments are welcome. 

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