http://www.thesecretworld.com/news/subs ... r_required
The Secret World no longer requires a subscription to play. The game is switching initially to a buy-to-play model, where all currently released content is available to anybody who purchased the game. Subscriptions will earn you XP bonuses, and points for the game's cash shop for customization, future content, etc.
Future content updates to TSW will take on one of two forms. Some content will be released free for everybody. Other content will be released as DLC. DLC content can be purchased from the game's cash shop with the points you earn every month for subscribing, or F2P players can purchase DLC directly.
For those that haven't played it (I was in the beta), The Secret World is basically the the opposite of Guild Wars 2. GW2 has fantastic moment-to-moment gameplay, but the story is pretty standard MMO fare. TSW's moment-to-moment gameplay (ie: combat) isn't as good or fluid as GW2's, but it does a much better job of story telling and world building.
On a personal note, the TSW's business model before this announcement is EXACTLY why I didn't play the game. The game had a subscription fee and a Free-to-Play style cash shop. Your subscription didn't earn you points on the cash shop. It was ridiculous.
