EverQuest II Going Free-To-Play

Sony Online Entertainment announced EverQuest II is going free-to-play next month.
A letter published online today by producer Dave Georgeson explains the reason behind the decision. SOE says it's combining both EverQuest II and EverQuest II: Extended into one service with a single membership.
Additional changes include:

• Gold membership in EverQuest II will provide access to all races and classes (except the Freeblood race and the Beastlord class) and is identical in all ways to the current subscription status on EQII Live servers.
• The free membership level will be called "Free" instead of "Bronze."
• Silver membership now costs 500 Station Cash instead of 1,000 Station Cash. (If you purchased a Silver membership in EverQuest II: Extended within the 60 days before the launch of this change, 500 Station Cash will be refunded to your Station Wallet.)
• Players can no longer purchase a Platinum membership. Existing Platinum memberships will continue until they expire.