Funcom is trying something new to lure players into Age of Conan; instead of the previous 7-day free trial, they’re going to let everyone who signs up and logs into the game before January 1, 2010 to play the game for free indefinitely. Of course, an offer like this doesn’t come without a few significant catches — you can’t get past level 20 nor leave the Island of Tortage. But other than that, the game’s there for the non-paying player’s enjoyment, forever and ever.

Morten Larssen, Funcom’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing, reckons that this approach will turn many taking advantage of the offer into permanent players, “allowing them to experience all of what the game has to offer including all the additions and improvements introduced since launch.”

And his optimism is well-founded; after the game went through a series of changes earlier in the year, a few week-long trial Funcom held in the summer reportedly made entire guilds return to the game.