Funcom Further Extends Anarchy Online Free Offer

Norwegian based publisher Funcom has announced that it has extended its offer of free play on Anarchy Online yet again, after previously suggesting a deadline of January 15th, 2007 for the promotion. The popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game was one of the first to offer free play, which has become an increasingly prevalent business model for similar titles – with the majority of revenue being instead derived from advertising. In the case of Anarchy Online, additional revenue streams were opened in July of this year via a deal with in-game advertiser Massive Incorporated. The extension of the non-subscription model will now continue until at least January 2008, with the hope that it will add to the almost one million players who have registered for a free account since the offer began in December 2004. The new extension also includes the expansion pack Anarchy Online: Notum Wars. “The free offer has been an amazing success and a chance to show massive amounts of players how good this game actually is,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. “With a new expansion around the corner, an improved free offer, continued development and few good sci-fi MMO games around we believe ‘Anarchy Online’ can remain successful for years to come. At the same time we gain invaluable large-scale data on innovative business and distribution models, enabling us to shape the future of our other games better informed.”