Anarchy Online

Business Model

At October 13, 2004, Funcom announced a new distribution model for Anarchy Online. The full version can now be downloaded for free and the tryout period has been extended from 7 to 14 days.

In December 2004, Funcom offered all new players who registered between 15 December 2004 and 15 January 2005 the full game for free until 1 January, 2006, without a subscription fee, to keep a steady user base. Of course, veteran players had to give up their characters for the free account and new players did not access to any of the three expansion packs.

This offer was extended on a yearly basis until early 2008 when Funcom introduced a new model with three subscriptions: free for the original Anarchy Online content, 5 USD/EUR per month for access to the Shadowlands expansion and 14,95 USD/EUR per month for all content. This goes along with the introduction of an item shop in October 2007 in which players can buy items for real money.

Information also contributed by Carlos Aquino and ClydeFrog