Aion ascends to free-to-play with the lot of former subscription MMOs

Look, unless your name is Star Wars: The Old Republic or World of Warcraft, it's just not cool to charge a monthly fee in MMOs (massively mult-player online games) anymore. Developer NCsoft finally decided to join the cool kids today with the launch of Aion Ascension, the troubled MMO's free-to-play (F2P) shift and next major expansion all wrapped into one neat package.

From this day onward, those interested in flying around as a winged warrior can download Aion and do just that for the fine cost of free. But NCsoft didn't stop there in its celebration of coming to terms with today's trends. Ascension brings with it a bunch of new features and content so as to lure both new and former players back into the fold of its large, feathered wings.

This free-to-play update brings with it a level cap increase of 55 to 60, housing for players' avatars, new quests to complete, new zones to explore, mounts for players to ride on and more. But what's even more important than the numerous new features in Aion is the game's new "Truly Free" business model. Under this model, NCsoft offers everything that was available to paying players before for absolutely free, meaning zero restrictions.

Of course Aion now features an in-game shop, but the developer promises that it won't push any offers for in-game items or boosts on players. Now that's what we call a free-to-play game. Check out everything you need to know about Aion Ascension over at Massively.

Are you excited for Aion's free-to-play move? Will F2P be the norm in online gaming someday? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.