Star Trek Online's new executive producer Daniel Stahl recently stated that he "could easily see" a hybrid free-to-play model working for Cryptic's MMO. Stahl specifically mentions (recent Warner Bros. acquisition) Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online as "interesting plans" worth taking note of. DDO went freemium last year to create a dungeon full of gold for the developer; LotRO will roll the die for the same fate this autumn.

Stahl expressed that Turbine's model creates a "robust way to demo the game" and allows those wanting more to pay for a subscription or purchase items á la carte. With Cryptic's parent-company Atari operating at a loss, ways to beam up revenue would appear logical. It's unclear if it's a sign of the future, but Cryptic did conduct a free-to-play away mission back in May.