Developer and publisher Codemasters has announced that its subscription-free MMORPG, ArchLord, has attracted over 500,000 subscribers. The game became free-to-play with the launch of its second expansion, Season of Siege, in August 2007.

ArchLord challenges it players with raising an army to compete to become an all-ruling ArchLord on their servers. Addressing the increased popularity of its game since the MMORPG switched to a free-to-play model, Codemasters Online plants to open a new game world in anticipation of its Episode 3 free content update.

Though users are not required to pay any monthly fees to play ArchLord, the MMORPG has in place a microtransaction system with which players can purchase in-game consumable enhancements from ArchLord's in-game "Chantra store."

Said Codemasters Online director of marketing Ed Reif: “This is a key milestone in the growth of ArchLord. ArchLord is a premier free-to-play MMORPG offering significantly more depth and quality than most other free-to-play games and this recent achievement solidifies our commitment to the ongoing development and success of ArchLord.”