Today Sony Online Entertainment revealed three news items worth mentioning if you are a fan of its popular MMO EverQuest II. First the company announced that the game is going free-to-play in early December. An open letter from Dave Georgeson, executive producer for the EverQuest franchise, explains why the company decided to move to this new subscription model:

"Many of you reading this letter are long-time EverQuest and EverQuest II players. You've been part of the SOE family for a long time (earlier this week was EQII's 7-year anniversary!) and our aim is to take care of you and keep you entertained for years to come.

Part of caring for our customers is listening to you and hearing what you have to say. Additionally, we need to be aware of changes in the industry, changes in player expectations, and larger economic trends in general.

We've listened to your concerns about the complexity of the subscription structure, how the separate forums between EQII and EQ2X divide the community unnecessarily, that the Live Gamer servers are under-populated, and that many people want more flexibility with payment options so they can better manage their personal budgets.

We believe the key to meeting your expectations is to provide more flexibility and to deliver what you want when you want it, whether it's basic game content, full subscription access to the game, or something in-between. So in early December we're going to change things to be "Free to Play. Your Way.'"

Pricing changes and more can be found here .

Secondly, SOE announced that the EQII: Age of Discovery expansion will launch in early December with pre-orders available now. For more information about the expansion and pre-order bonus items, visit here .

Finally, SOE celebrated EQII's 7th anniversary this week! For more information about the history of the EverQuest franchise, visit everquest2.com .