Aion goes free-to-play in February 2012 in Europe

One of the few high profile subscription-based MMORPGs still available is about to make the transition to the free-to-play model. NCsoft has announced that Aion will be transitioned to publisher Gameforge and become free to download and play in Europe starting February 2012, without any class, race or level limit.

Current players will become Veterans and earn some benefits, including permanent access to all game areas and without some restrictions that free players will suffer from, such as longer waiting times for the instances and smaller rewards. Gameforge says this saves player’s time but will not disrupt the game balance. Obviously, free players may purchase a Gold package and get all the features from a Veteran account, but for a limited period. As expected, a game store will sell many items in exchange for real money.

Players who wish to know more about the game may visit the free-to-play Aion website.