Codemasters announces the imminent release of ArchLord, saying the MMORPG will ship in North America on Monday, and launch one week from tomorrow. They also announce that their experiment with the PLAYplus, a scheme whereby in-game advantages could be earned by paying more, has failed, and the game will follow a traditional monthly subscription model:

Thursday, 28th September (2pm UK) – ArchLord™, the MMORPG where one player will rule the world, [will ship to stores in North America on October 3rd] will launch on Friday 6th October, Codemasters Online Gaming confirmed today. It is also announced that the game’s subscription package will now follow the traditional standard monthly MMO payment model rather than the proposed PLAYplus system, which was tested within the game’s beta phase.

The PLAYplus payment system allowed players to choose from a range of monthly subscription packages, each offering different levels of in-game incentives at varying price points. Following experimentation with the system within the beta test and monitoring the feedback from thousands of ArchLord community members, the PLAYplus system will not be implemented for the game’s release.

ArchLord will now launch with a standard monthly subscription of UK £8.99, US $14.99, Europe €12.99 (plus applicable taxes). The single monthly subscription will also include free credits for all players to redeem against in-game enhancements. All players will receive the same amount of credits as part of the single monthly subscription, providing a level playing field for all subscribers.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online Gaming, commented: “We have listened to our community and delivered. From the start of the test of the PLAYplus system, we had an open dialogue with players to monitor reactions to the system. Thanks to their feedback and continued support, we are pleased to confirm that ArchLord will now launch with a single standard subscription package. “Here at Codemasters Online Gaming we place great importance on our open dialogue with players and our ability to react positively to their constructive feedback. We wish to thank all players that spent time testing PLAYplus and the detailed feedback they provided us, which assisted in reaching the final subscription decision.”

Codemasters Online Gaming is currently evaluating a series of other additional in-game benefits to reward the games most loyal players with more details to follow soon. There are still places left in the ArchLord beta for the final week, to join the beta test pre-order ArchLord now by visiting www.archlordgame.com/preorder