Free-to-Play Star Wars: The Old Republic Can Reach 50 Million Users

Electronic Arts’ recent change to Star Wars: The Old Republic’s subscription model, which turned it into a free-to-play experience up to level 50, will result in a massive influx of new players, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

Star Wars: the Old Republic made its debut in December of last year and, while it seemed rather successful at first, plenty of users suspended their subscriptions, despite the aggressive promotional efforts through free trial weekends.

As one last effort, EA confirmed this week that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be free-to-play until players reach level 50.

This will draw in many new players, according to games industry analyst Michael Pachter, who believes that it eliminates one of the MMO’s largest problems.

"We believe the free-to-play option and lower retail price will combine to significantly increase the number of Star Wars players by the end of the year as the two largest barriers to entry for potential Star Wars gamers (apart from an appreciation for the franchise and PC gaming) have been significantly reduced or eliminated," he said, via GamesIndustry.

What’s more, Pachter believes that, through the free-to-play nature and the huge number of Star Wars fans, the number of players will increase exponentially as the game has the potential to "attract at least 10 million MAUs indefinitely, with upside to perhaps 50 million."

"We expect the network effect to augment the number of gamers further. In the long-term, we believe the adjustments will result in incremental revenue and earnings growth as high-margin Cartel Coin purchases by a much larger pool of gamers and additional advertising generate more revenue than was lost through declining subscription fees and the lower MSRP."

Expect to hear more about EA’s plans with Star Wars: The Old Republic in the near future.

Via: Free-to-Play Star Wars: The Old Republic Can Reach 50 Million Users