Perfect World, the guys behind Torchlight, Star Trek: Online and Blacklight: Retribution have announced today that their next and possibly most anticipated game Dungeon & Dragons Neverwinter will be going into open Beta on April 30th.

“The direct response and support from the Neverwinter community during our Closed Beta Weekends have pushed us to make Neverwinter the best free-to-play MMORPG anyone has yet seen,” said Cryptic Studios Executive Producer and COO, Craig Zinkievich. You heard him right, Neverwinter is going to be a free-to-play model. This kind of game can really split a fan base though, many like the free-to-play element of a game and who wouldn’t? It’s free after all. But on the other hand it can be very easy for free-to-play games slide into the pay-to-win pit which can be irreversably damaging to a game.

Closed Beta weekends have been going for a while now with people who want to become founders of the game getting permanent benefits for doing so. Players can still become Founders through Neverwinter’s Founder’s Pack Program. Benefits include exclusive access to Beta Weekend 4, permanent in-game items that are unique to Founders, early access to Open Beta, and VIP perks. To take advantage of these benefits and to gain exclusive access to Neverwinter’s Beta Weekend 4, players can head to the game’s website and sign up.

Will you be playing the Beta? How do you feel about free-to-play games? Let us know in the comments below!