Age of Conan going free-to-play this summer

Funcom's announced this morning that Age of Conan will go free-to-play this summer.

The switch will see new content arrive and the game change its name to Age of Conan: Unrated. The subscription set-up will still be available, though.

Those who go down the FTP route will need to pay for expansions and items, but will still be able to reach Level 80. Those who maintain their subs will now be known as premium members.

The reboot of the MMO will also bring two new solo story-based dungeons known as The Breach and The Forgotten. There'll also be an adventure pack for fall, which will use characters from the upcoming Conan movie.

Executive producer Craig Morrison has said the change is to prepare for any potential interest increase in the wake of the movie.

"The time is right for Age of Conan now as we recognised the opportunity presented by the increased profile of the license, with the new Conan movie coming out this Fall," he told EG.

"That meant that we felt that the time had come to make the switch to ensure we had the best possible position and availability for when that interests increases, so that we could draw in even more users to this wonderful world that we have brought to life."