Sony Online Entertainment announced today, EverQuest II Extended, which is a new free adventure service coming to players around the world. The critically acclaimed PC franchises now absolutely free!

EverQuest II Extended will offer players a subscription-free business model, and also operate in parallel with the subscription based game, for the first time in the MMO industry.

“As the digital entertainment market evolves, SOE is focused on continued innovation in content delivery that best fit the needs of the growing consumer base,” said Sony Online Entertainment President, John Smedley. “Our goal with Extended is to offer players an alternative to our current subscription program that gives them the option to choose a program that best fits their play style.”

“The very nature of an MMO is change, and the decision to create Extended was fueled by evolution of the industry landscape,” said EverQuest II Producer, David Georgeson. “By offering two services side by side we have given the power to our players to determine the program that best fits their game play style.”

Extended players will be able to experience the vast depth of content in EverQuest II without a subscription, credit card, or software purchase. It will include free access to all the game zones in the original game. Players, however, will be able to purchase armor, classes, races, weapons, mounts and more through the online marketplace.

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Both EverQuest II and Extended players will enjoy a plethora of recent user-interface improvements designed to improve functionality and game navigation. Players will experience a new and improved character progression through the Golden Path while creating their own legend with the Storyteller adventure journal that visually displays quest exploration. Additionally, both titles received a graphics quality update that gives a more realistic immersive experience to fully enjoy the beauty of Norrrath.

EverQuest II Extended is expected to have its beta released at the 17th of August, 2010.