With the impending demise of Star Wars Galaxies and perhaps the dawning realization that the best games it has to offer are free-to-play, Sony Online Entertainment ditches the Station Pass in favor of SOE All Access, allowing players to access nine online games starting at $19.99 a month.

Sony Online Entertainment's Station Pass used to run around $30 a month, allowing players to tap into games like Everquest, Everquest II, DC Universe Online, Star Wars Galaxies, and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for monthly fee. Considering each of those games cost upwards of $14.99 per month to play by themselves, it wasn't a bad deal.

But now Star Wars Galaxies is dying, Vanguard continues to be a steaming pile of shit, and Sony Online Entertainment's most popular titles are the family-friendly and free-to-play Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. It's time for a price drop.

For $19.99 a month (or as low as $14.99 a month yearly), players can now access Everquest, Everquest II, Pirates of the Burning Sea, Planetside, DC Universe Online, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Free Realms, Vanguard, and the free-to-play Everquest II Extended. Subscribers will gain access to free downloadable versions of all games with the exception of the latest EQ and EQII expansions, Vanguard, and DC Universe Online.

If you ask me, this is all an elaborate scheme to trick people into buying Vanguard. Remain vigilant!

You can fully explore Sony Online Entertainment's revised pricing schemes at its game pass plan website.

After two years of plundering the pockets of players, Sony Online Entertainment makes subscription fees walk the plank, making MMO Pirates of the Burning Sea free-to-play.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game in which players sail the seas of the 18th century New World, fighting on the side of the British, Spanish, French, or pirate factions. Up until recently a subscription fee was required to play the game, but that all changed earlier this week, when Sony Online Entertainment opened the hatches to let everyone in.

There are now three levels of membership. Free members can play the game, but are limited in the amount of ships they can own and must pay for premium content. Premium members pay $14.99 a month to gain access to all premium content, a dockyard with room for 100 ships, experience bonuses, and the ability to form Societies in the game without paying real cash at the online store. A third tier, Captain's Club, mixes the benefits of the two for former subscribers as well as players that have paid for at least one month of Premium membership.

It's a little convoluted. All you need to know is that if you've got the pirate itch, some free hard drive space, and don't mind sailing virtual waves for hours on end, the seas are yours to explore.

Play Pirates of the Burning Sea for Free [Official Website]