TERA
Genre: Themepark MMORPG | Release date: May 3, 2012 | Initial payment model: Buy-to-play with subscription | Change to free-to-play occurred on: February 4, 2013 | Website: TERA on Steam
What payment model did the game start with? TERA was released with the classic model: buy-to-play with subscription. However, it had already been demonstrated in Korea a year prior that this model no longer met player expectations.
Why was the change to free-to-play made? The revenues fell short of the expectations of the developer studio Bluehole. Servers had to be merged due to declining population.
Eventually, the change to the free-to-play model first occurred in Korea at the end of 2012. In Europe, it took place on February 4, 2013.
What happened to the MMORPG after the change? TERA is still running and even received Xbox One and PS4 versions, both of which launched as free-to-play titles. New updates sometimes bring many innovations and changes.
However, the MMORPG has distanced itself from the once fairly good player numbers (via Steamcharts). Nevertheless, there are still a fair number of active players supporting the title.
