EVE Online Getting Limited Free-To-Play Mode

CCP's long-running sci-fi MMO EVE Online will soon be opening up to a lot more people. Earlier today, CCP revealed its plans for a free-to-play (of sorts) mode. The new mode -- or as CCP refers to it, "clone states" -- will allow non-paying players to participate in the game with access to a limited set of skills. This is known as the Alpha Clone. Paying players -- whether using cash or PLEX -- will have access to the full set of skills as Omega clones.

According to CCP, Alpha clones will be able to participate in most in-game activities. They will, however, have a limited faction-specific set of skills available to them. This means they will also be limited to a specific set of ships they can pilot -- specifically Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers owned by their faction.

While new players won't be terribly affected by this, returning players do need to note that their skills and access to any ships and other things outside of their skillset will effectively be turned off. This means that if you have an older account with the ability to fly ships beyond the ones listed here, those abilities will be gone until you subscribe again.

CCP outlined the full details of this new system which will arrive in November in a blog post on the game's site. There is also a basic FAQ and a list of the skills that will be available to Alpha clones.