The free/subscription hybrid MMORPG set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, Eberron Unlimited, has reached the 1 million member mark, though it’s not quite apparent how many of the players are paying their way through.
In a world dominated by Warcraft, it’s a rare sight to see another MMO make its mark in the marketplace. Aion has managed moderate success in the US to match its dominance in Asia, and it looks like Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited could join them as a standout MMORPG star. Turbine Inc. sent out an announcement today stating that it’s five month old MMO has already amassed over a million members, though it’s tough to discern how many players are paying the publisher.
Turbine does tout a handful of stats regarding revenue and paid subscribers, like the fact that the “paid subscriber base has more than doubled” since launch, that players are making purchases “at three times the industry average,” and that the game’s revenue has jumped over 500 percent since September. It feels like we’re one variable away from figuring out the equation. Of course, there’s a chance that Turbine might reveal to us how many paid subscribers there are in Dungeons & Dragons Online–that’s why we sent a query to Turbine–but trying to figure it out seems like a pretty fun exercise in and of itself.
Has anyone figured out x, if y equals the amount of people playing Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited?
UPDATE: Turbine responded to our queries, clarifying that D&D Online has added over a million new members since the franchise changed from a subscription-only model to a hybrid focus in September, doubling its base built during the game’s three and a half years as a subscription title. Turbine also promised to reveal more variable in the equation and a few of the secrets behind its success during its GDC session entitled “The Future of MMO Monetization: How Turbine Supercharged DDO by Adopting a Hybrid Business Model”