SWTOR adding Free to Play in Autumn

It was probably to be expected - Star Wars: The Old Republic is going Free to Play this Autumn. Preceding an investor's call last night in which it was explained that the MMO's subscriptions had dropped below 1 million people, it was announced that Bioware were going to take the languishing game Free to Play up to level 50 - with limited options - in Spring (Autumn in Australia.)

Subscribers to SWTOR will get a monthly stipend of 'Cartel Coins', priority login, and unrestricted access to the Auction House, travel options, Flashpoints, Operations, Warzones and character creation options. Free to Play will limit your access to those features - no Operations, only one Warzone and Flashpoint access per week and limited travel and character choices. Said Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of SWTOR, of the change:

“Since launch we have been adding new content and refining The Old Republic at a breakneck pace based on the feedback from our fans. We believe we are in a position to help improve the service even more, not only by continuing to add new content, but also by expanding the game to many more Star Wars fans, increasing the populations on worlds and the vibrancy of the community.”

There are a slew of different rewards on offer for people who played the game before the Free To Play announcement, as well as for people who continue to play after the announcement - primarily bonus cartel coins, but you can find out all of the details on the changes on the official site. Personally, the Free to Play option sounds grossly unappealing given the restrictions to content it has, but time will tell how the punters feel about it. Here's hoping they don't remove Oceanic servers in an attempt to recoup costs at least. While F2P up to level 15 didn't snag many people, will you play once it's up to level 50? Let us know in the comments below!