Need for Speed World Grabs 1 Million Users, Switching to Free-to-Play

Electronic Arts and Black Box have announced that the MMO racing game Need for Speed World has surpassed 1 million registered users. The game will also be shifting to a free-to-play model, though the game's microtransactions will remain.

Originally, the game was free to play up to level 10, but required a one-time payment of $20 to experience content up to level 50. Now, all of the games content will be available to all players for free, though paid items like "power-ups, double XP periods and even rental cars" will still cost money.

As for those players that purchased the Starter Pack, Black Box will be giving them a little gift.

Our VIP gamers who bought the Starter Pack before today (Sept 8th) will soon be receiving a little present from us in the form of three free 7-day car rental vouchers for the BMW M3 GTR, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and the Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro. We wanted a way to say 'Thank you' to our most ardent fans and cool, fast cars seemed to be the best way. We'll be emailing codes to all the qualified gamers shortly. Thank you again for all your support and passion.

Players can get started over at the official site.