Sony Online Entertainment prepares subscription free offer

Sony Online Entertainment's massively multiplayer online FPS title, PlanetSide, will shortly be available without subscription for a twelve month period to encourage new players to join the growing community.

According to recent forum posts from the game's developers, the subscription-free 'Fodder Program' is expected to launch on February 14th.

Access to the MMO title will be limited in terms of BattleRank and CommandRank, although sub-free players can still enjoy all the enhancements and new additions planned for release in February. "Essentially, new players will be able to have access to any part of the game but they will be limited on the diversity of their arsenal," said developer Enrico Pallazzo.

As part of a multitude of enhancements and new additions to the gameplay, scheduled for release with the subscription-free offer, PlanetSide is set to gain a completely re-worked user interface and player training programme, designed to make it as simple as possible for new gamers to jump straight into the fray.

"One of the complaints that we receive frequently is that when you enter the game, there isnât an easy learning curve and transition into battle. Weâre going to change that in hopes of getting new players/characters into battle within a couple minutes of entering the game at the same time teaching them how to play," Pallazzo stated.

In addition to its subscription-free offer, which mirrors similar moves from a number of MMO publishers in an effort to encourage and keep new players in the genre, PlanetSide developers have opened more than 300,000 closed accounts, offering 30-days of gameplay for free, providing the offer is accepted before February 28th.