THE BUZZ: Just as EverQuest II‘s seven year anniversary passes, the game’s executive producer Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson has made a major announcement: EverQuest II will soon be switching to a fully free to play experience.

Last year, a portion of EverQuest II was broken off into a free to play experience titled “EverQuest II: Extended”—one which had its own membership structure separate from the main portion of the game. Come next month, everything will be brought together under the new free to play plan.

The game will now have three member tiers: Free, Silver ($5/month), and Gold ($15/month). While most of the main adventure will be playable by all levels, the higher the membership you pay for, the more restrictions will be removed. As well, Gold members will no longer have to sign up for a recurring membership—you’ll now be able to purchase access to the Gold tier in blocks of 1, 3, 6, or 12-month durations.

As well, under this new set-up, the main EverQuest II game, and all expansions up to Sentinel’s Fate, will be completely free to download and install.

For a full rundown of the effects this change will have to EverQuest II, and a complete listing of what each membership level will provide, hit the link below.

EGM’s TAKE: Another of the major MMORPGs now goes free to play, a trend that is becoming more and more common. How long can the remaining offerings hold out? World of Warcraft is of course the big question mark, as even it is starting to see membership erosion. And what about Final Fantasy XIV? Can Square Enix’s troubled MMO actually survive once it finally kicks off the requirement for paid memberships after being free for so long?

Source: EverQuest II Free to Play Announcement