CCP spent over a decade slowly building a fan base of customers buying EVE Online. After that long wait, the result has come to fruition: EVE Online will become free-to-play in November. Thanks to Clone States, a big November update, fans of the science-fiction MMO will be able to play the game for free.
Most MMOs have a big explosion at the very beginning, but settle after time goes on. EVE Online‘s success came from the fact that they had a paid subscription service, but instead of customers using their own money to purchase the service, they could pay with in-game currency, which has kept that customers playing the game as time went on.
The Clone States feature splits players into two different groups. Omega Clones are the paying customers who have access to every skill and ship the game has to offer. People who don’t pay for the service will be an Alpha Clone. Alpha Clones will have limited skills and ships they can obtain, but they will still be able to explore everything the world has to offer.
Above is a video explaining all the features of the Clone States, as well as the limitation Alpha Clone players have compared to the Omega Clone players. Why there is a difference between the capabilities that Omega Clone players have in comparison with Alpha Clone players is also explained by the developer:
Part of our vision for the future of EVE has included more open access for some time, but with the interconnected nature of the game comes vulnerability. We knew that if the flood gates were opened in the wrong way, we could see anything from server meltdowns to the collapse of the EVE economy. Over time, our hardware has improved, code has been untangled (mostly!) and we’ve found a design we believe in.
To further help explain the Clone States feature, CCP will be flying the entire Council of Stellar Management player organization to its headquarters to help explain the feature and answer questions to both new players and returning players who have questions or concerns about the feature.