After 13 years of honest paid subscriptions CCP decided to move into the uncharted waters of F2P monetization.
According to the recent developer log, since November 2016 you’ll be able to become a part of EVE Online expansive universe for free. Plus you’ll all get access to the upcoming Clone States expansion. There is a trick though.
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Eve Online is using the same kind of approach as Blizzard does with World of Warctaft. Players may venture into its full world, but there are some limitations. In Eve, the F2P users will be training on just the most-used ships, which is a huge thing, if you consider the local game system. All existing characters will become “Omega clones”, having the same unlimited access to skill progression and rapid training.
New characters will become “Alpha clones”, able to fully explore and trade in the Eve. Their ability to train will be limited to a specific set of commonly-flown ships.
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It would be great to know how this change affect the games user base. EVE Online is hardly an easy game to play. It’s got a ton of quirks and looks more like a spreadsheet simulator that a space exploration game. It also got a big community of people, who are very passionate about the project. How will these hardcore EVE fans interact with newcomers? Only time will tell.