DC Universe Online Goes Free-to-Play This October

Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that the recent DC Universe Online massively multiplayer online role playing game, released at the beginning of the year on the PC and PlayStation 3, is turning into a free-to-play experience.

DC Universe Online impressed quite a lot of people earlier this year, with many players opting to create their own superheroes or supervillains and engage in a variety of missions and quests all over Gotham City or Metropolis, two of the famous cities from the DC Comics universe.

Now, after seeing a lot of DLC released for the online game, SOE has confirmed that it's going free-to-play next month, with players being able to explore all the current content of the title without paying a single penny.

"What could possibly be better than battling with thousands of other players online in the first, and only, action MMO on the PS? How about battling FOR FREE? That’s right, DC Universe Online will soon be free to download from the PlayStation Store, and free-to-play with no monthly fees required," Sony revealed on its PlayStation blog.

There isn't any sort of catch, although a new in-game store will be presented, from which players can buy all sorts of premium items for actual money. Three tiers of access will soon be available, including Free, Premium and Legendary.

- Free - New players will now have access to the current gameplay in DC Universe Online (including Gotham City, Metropolis, and all current raids and alerts), with the ability to create two characters, join a league and many other benefits. Free level players will be able to purchase downloadable game packs/updates, additional character slots, powers and more through microtransactions.

- Premium - Any player who has spent at least $5 (including former paid subscribers and new players who have purchased $5 of in-game items) will qualify for the Premium access level. Premium level players will have more benefits available to them than the Free level player, including additional character slots, additional inventory slots, and higher cash limits. Downloadable adventure packs, additional character slots, and more can be purchased in-game.

- Legendary - Maximum features and benefits are included at this level. Loaded with enhanced additional features, Legendary access will be available for a $14.99 monthly fee and includes all DLC packs at no cost, more than 15 character slots, more than 80 inventory slots, the ability to form unrestricted-sized leagues, and many other benefits.

Existing subscribers that have already paid money will be given Legendary status but they can choose to get premium access, after their subscription expires, if they don't want to spend anymore money.

DC Universe Online is going free-to-play next month, although a concrete date hasn't been released.