Funcom's modern day conspiracy-themed MMORPG The Secret World has become the latest MMORPG to shed its subscription fee in favour of a buy-to-play model. However, like the Guild Wars series, Funcom requires players to pay for a retail version in order to access the game. Like many free-to-play MMORPGs, The Secret World has an optional subscription, and the bonuses it grants can be seen here.

Future content for The Secret World will be released in a DLC-like fashion and will have to be bought from the in-game store. The first of these, Issue #5, will be released in January 2013 and will cost $5. Those who have an account registered prior to December 31 will be granted this issue free.

In addition, The Secret World is currently operating an event to tie into 21/12/12, details of which can be found here.