Age of Conan subs climb in wake of F2P conversion

Surprise, surprise! Beleaguered MMORPG Age of Conan has seen an increase in subscriptions since switching to a free-to-play model.

"There's a significant number of new players coming into the game and trying it out and returning and playing again," Age of Conan director Craig Morrison Eurogamer.

"... Obviously something like this lowers the entry barrier for people coming in and trying the game. So we've seen a lot more players coming back. The activity on the servers is up."

Existing players are adjusting to the change quite well.

"The reception from our community seems to be going really well. We haven't had any major issues with the way we've integrated the business model change," Morrison said.

"There's the odd minor quibble here and there, but overall people seem to be accepting. We've found decent price points and it's a fairly reasonable offer and the players seem to be enjoying it."

Rebranded as Age of Conan: Unchained, the Funcom-owned MMORPG offers players the choice of a monthly subscription offering sieges, offline play, veteran points and alternate advancement, plus increased access toi bank space, adventure zones, dungeons, raids and mount training.

Age of Conan joins recent high-profile freemium conversions Team Fortress 2 and arguably World of Warcraft, as well as Champions Online, City of Heroes, Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online.