A producer's letter from Dave "Smokejumper" Georgeson on the EverQuest II Website outlines a new free service from EverQuest II, SOE's MMORPG sequel that will run on their new EQ2 Extended Servers. There's a Q&A with Dave on Ten Ton Hammer discussing this move, and here's a bit on what's involved:

But the free-to-play concept is a strong way to expose the world of Norrath to hordes of new players. Think of it as a huge new way to run a “free trial” like we’ve always done, but without the “14-day” limit, and with a lot more content available to try before you decide whether you want to commit to the game or not. We’ve had over eight years to grow this game, its content and its features, and there’s simply nothing else like it out there.

So, we’re about to launch a bold new service named “EverQuest II Extended” (EQ2X). This is a completely separate service from the standard EQII Live subscription service (EQII). For all intents and purposes, it’s a completely separate gameplay mechanic with the aim to attract new players to the world of “EverQuest II”.

“EverQuest II Extended” shares all the content and features of Live EQII. It plays the same. It looks the same. It *is* the same, with two obvious exceptions: a) it’s free-to-play, and b) it has a more robust marketplace.