Carbine's Wildstar goes F2P this autumn

Carbine and NCSoft have made the decision to move MMO Wildstar from a subscription model to a F2P system.

According to the studio, the switch won't happen until this fall, with the time between now and then being used for player feedback to tweak the game ahead of its 'new' launch.

It'll be offering bonuses for former and current subscribers, with "exclusive items and rewards" offered and scaled dependent on whether you've been playing continuously since launch, have lapsed, or continue to play and pay between now and the switch.

In-game items will be available for purchase either through NCoin currency, or equivalents can be found "for players that want to invest time rather than money". Power will not be purchasable.

While all content, dungeons, levelling will be free for all, there will be an optional monthly membership offered "that will provide various convenience bonuses and enhancements to XP, crafting, currency, item drops and reputation".

At an event this month to announce the transition, Carbine was quick to emphasise that it'd still be putting the same amount of work and continued refining into the game despite the change, with rebuilt tutorials and overhauling the dungeons, as well as reviewing and changing player stats and unlocking all Amp slots.

Carbine will be giving more detail on the Loyalty reward system as well as other information on the switch on its official website over the weeks to come, but it'll also be hosting a special live-stream tomorrow from 6pm BST / 7pm CEST to explain in more detail the changes its bringing to the MMO.