The complicated life of science-fantasy MMO, Ryzom, is about to take another twist as the current owners relaunch the billing system.
Ryzom was released in 2004, but after two years the developers, Nevrax, went into receivership. Fans banded together to raise funds, forming the ‘Free Ryzom Campaign’. The game eventually passed to GameForge AG and all subscriptions were changed to ‘Free period’, however, Gameforge filed for bankruptcy in October 2007 and all servers were shut down in February 2008.
The game was given a new lease of life in June last year as it emerged new owners were working on the game. In August, anyone with a valid account was allowed to play Ryzom free of charge and, later, account creation was reactivated but subscriptions were still suspended.
After almost nine months of free play, Ryzom will switch back to a subscription service, with the first payments beginning on 18 May. The monthly subscription will be £7.75 GBP, €7.95 EUR or $10.95 USD. Ryzom is still free to download, and players may take part in a free trial period of three weeks. Read more about the payment methods at the official Ryzom site.Ryzom seems to be determined to live despite the odds, but some MMOs aren’t that lucky. Sci-Fi MMO Tabula Rasa recently closed down for good, to the despair of many fans. We looked at how gamers react to their MMO worlds closing down in our feature, The End Of The MMO World.
