Yep, the title says it all.  Trion Worlds announced that players can now play any character(s) up to level 20 without requiring a subscription.  This is pretty much the same plan World of Warcraft came up with last year to help increase their dwindling numbers (although we have not heard any negative news about the subscriber numbers for Rift).  So, this is some good news, sort of...

Honestly, in this gamers personal opinion, making a game "free" through level 20 doesn't really do much to encourage people to go pick up the game, and it certainly doesn't bring back any previous players who didn't feel like keeping up their monthly fees.  As far as a trial option goes, this is probably better than a simply 7 or 14-day deal though.  What would be really great to see is more games joining in with the likes of Everquest II, The Lord of the Rings Online, Champions Online, Star Trek Online, D&D Online, and a growing list of major titles that now offer SUBSTANTIAL free-play options.

But, at least if you have yet to try Rift, you now have some good opportunity to give it a close look.  And if that is the case, I certainly recommend checking it out...

Here is our article with the news about the "Rift Lite" update: CLICK HERE