Funcom announces that Age of Conan will be going free-to-play this summer, as they plan to re-launch the MMORPG under the new name Age of Conan: Unrated. They also announce an August release for The Savage Coast of Turan, an adventure pack that adds content related to the upcoming Conan: The Barbarian movie. There's an interview on Massively talking with Funcom's Craig 'Silirrion' Morrison about the change in the game's business model, which is further detailed in the Age of Conan Europe Free-to-play FAQ and this Free and Premium Content Overview. Here's more from the announcement:

The new business model will give players the opportunity to choose whether they want to play for free or become premium subscribers, and Funcom is also introducing an in-game store to the game where both free players and premium subscribers can purchase exclusive content such as weaponry and mounts. For a full overview of what differs from the free and premium offerings, please view the Frequently Asked Questions now available on ‘Age of Conan’ community website.

‘Age of Conan’ has always been a Mature gaming experience, but going Unrated gives the development team freedom to stay even more true to the original works of Conan author Robert E. Howard, and use even more of the barbaric, brutal and sexy setting that is Howard's Hyboria. Funcom is already in the process of developing new locations, monsters, equipment and storylines for ‘Age of Conan: Unrated’. This includes the movie tie-in adventure pack announced yesterday, that will introduce content and characters from the upcoming ‘Conan the Barbarian’ movie.