DCUO Makes April Update Free, Will "Explore" Not Gating Content By Purchase This Summer

Daybreak Game Company and Dimensional Ink Games have something special planned for Update #40 of DC Universe Online. When World of Flashpoint goes live in April, it's going to be a totally free update for all players, with no time limit or other strings attached.

The developer explained the gift by saying that it plans on a "major Membership update" for the summer, and the free update is going to test the waters to "explore a world where our content is not gated by purchase." Notably, it didn't want to sell the episode now and then offer it for free a few months later when changes are made.

Daybreak and Dimensional Ink acknowledged that access to episodes was a key part of paid membership, and that if things do change, they would account for it in their membership update.

DC Universe Online went free-to-play nearly a decade ago and, like many MMOs that took that step back then, its payment model seems a little archaic, especially compared to more modern games. Big expansions might still carry a cost, but updates that come around every few months are typically free, with costs paid in cosmetics, bonus packs, season passes, and the like. If DCUO can update its monetization, it would probably be a good move as the game heads into its second decade.