City of Heroes News & Events & Guides

City of Heroes, one of the biggest MMORPGs in the industry featuring a monthly subscription model, has decided to make the jump over to free-to-play. The move will also see the game's name change to City of Heroes Freedom.

The announcement came earlier today and has the super-powered MMO following in the footsteps of Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online, both of which have seen success in moving from subscription-based to free-to-play.

"Freedom is about getting more content into the hands of our players, whether they are subscribing or playing for free," said Brian Clayton, Executive Producer at Paragon Studios, the game's developer. "To do this, we've looked at City of Heroes from the ground up and focused on three ways to enhance the experience by giving our players more choices(CoH Influence), greater rewards and the best content we've ever produced. And for the first time ever, players can choose to enjoy more than seven years of content for free."

Those who wish to play at no cost will be able to fight all the way to level 50 with full access to both Hero and Villain zones. For anyone who still wants to pay a subscription, Freedom will offer VIP access for exclusive content such as monthly Signature Story Arcs, benefits, and services.

"After an unforgettable seven years, the City of Heroes franchise remains the world's most popular super-powered MMO, and we're excited to continue that momentum with Freedom," said Clayton. "Through City of Heroes Freedom, we will be delivering more content to players than ever before, while continuing to expand the ever-evolving City of Heroes storyline and legacy."

City of Heroes Freedom will be going live sometime later this year. To see the all the differences between free and VIP City of Heroes influence players, just check out the full breakdown chart here.