TERA Online Free-To Play Model Picks up 500,000 New Players

Gameforge has announced that since dropping it subscription fee about a month ago, TERA has gained over 500,000 new players.

This brings the total population of this online fantasy world to just over a million, an impressive number for just about any game. In fact, the company has had to open six new servers just to handle the extra demand.

The game currently competes with games like Guild Wars 2, and later this year will be up against subscription funded MMOs such as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

TERA was launched in May of 2012, before phasing out its subscription plans late last month. The game features seven unique races, eight character classes, and features such as questing, crafting, and player-versus-player combat. It also uses a real-time battle system which requires players to actively target their enemies while also dodging attacks.

It has so far been favorably reviewed by critics, and was a moderately popular MMO before it made the switch to free-to-play. With the recent and massive influx of players, it seems likely that TERA may become a major contender in the MMO marketplace in the very near future.

The game's official website describes the story thusly:

"About a millennia ago two omnipotent titans Arun and Shara entered into formless voids and for reasons we can only guess, fell asleep.

The titans started to dream. Dream of a world that took form on their backs known as Tera.

The first beings to call Tera home were twelve godlike beings dreamt up by the titans, but it wasn't long before the gods started fighting.

As the dream continued new creatures took place called mortals, they were less powerful but far more numerous.

Arun dreamed of ambitious Elves, clever Humans, honor bound Amani, powerful Giants, scheming Devas, and mischievous Poporis.

Shara dreamed of sly Sikandari, dark Gulas and Vampires, fierce Wendigos, strange Faeries, and serpentine Nagas.

The mortals were forced into the divine wars of the gods, which eventually left the gods dead, imprisoned, or otherwise diminished.

The mortal races didn't escape unscathed. Some-like the Sikandari, and most of the Giants-were wiped out but others rose from the wars such as the Barakas and Castanics.

Now that the gods were gone the seven races; Amani, Barakas, Castanics, Elin, High Elves, Humans, and Poporis must band together to fend off a new enemy.

A metallic race from the underworld called Argons; their goal is to take over Tera and wake the titans to end their dreams and destroy Tera."