EA introduces free, endless trial for Warhammer Online

EA has announced a new endless free trail version of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, which will replace the 10 day time-limited demo players were previously able to try out.

As well as giving both new and returning game users the opportunity to play through more of the game, a new streaming client decreases the trial's download time - the initial download will be limited to 1GB, while additional content will stream in the background while playing.

Players will be able to create and play any of the game's 24 careers, progress to character level 10 within the tier one Empire vs Chaos zones of Nordland and Norsca, explore a newly added tier one dungeon, and battle other players in three instanced scenarios.

"With the introduction of the endless free trial and streaming client, we are making it easier than ever for a new player to join the WAR," said Jeff Hickman, executive producer at Mythic. "We've worked hard to create a more informative and community driven new user experience, and now we are giving players an unlimited amount of time to explore the early parts of the game at their own pace.

"We are confident that players new and old will find all the enhancements we've made to WAR over the past year worthy of their time and commitment."

Trial players will be introduced to the game through a New User Journey, featuring enhanced tutorials and community elements such as a 'new player' guild. The trial is available to download from today.

Warhammer Online was launched in September 2008. Earlier this year, figures showed that the numbers of subscribers to the game had dropped from 750,000 the month after launch, to 300,000. However Mythic has defended its subscriber numbers, saying it's "super proud" of those that have been achieved.