A new Bounty Hunter trailer on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site shows off some of the skills and weapons that will available to those that choose to play this class. I'm digging the jetpack upper-cut move toward the end, though you have to wonder what it would look like on a smaller monster. I've also posted a few Bounty Hunter screenshots in our Old Republic gallery.

What began as a trickle of MMORPGs abandoning mandatory subscription fees in favor of microtransactions has turned into a landslide, with Age of Conan being the latest convert to a free-to-play revenue model. The latest version on the game is called Age of Conan: Unchained, and according to the press release: "Players now get to choose whether they want to experience the free offering, or become a Premium member with access to even more game content. An in-game store also allows both free players and Premium members to purchase in-game goods such as weaponry and mounts." You can watch the Age of Conan: Unchained launch trailer on YouTube.

Blizzard sends word that, coinciding with the release of Rise of the Firelands, the free trial for World of Warcraft will no longer have a time limit, and will instead cap players at level 20. There are still other restrictions on trial accounts intended to deter gold farming, such as limited access to trading, chat, and the auction house. Also new is that The Burning Crusade expansion is now included with the original game, and they can be purchased together for $19.99 on the Blizzard Store. Those who own the original game but haven't yet purchased The Burning Crusade will get it for free.

SOE and LucasArts have announced that they will end all services for Star Wars Galaxies on December 15, 2011. This MMORPG launched in 2003 and has had a colorful history which included major redesigns such as the New Game Enhancements of 2005, which were widely criticized for reducing the game's depth and complexity. While subscriber numbers have clearly diminished over the years, that is likely not the only reason for this decision. SOE's license to use the "Star Wars" universe expires in 2012, and of course, another "Star Wars" MMORPG, Bioware's The Old Republic, is likely to go online later this year. Remarkably, SOE is still going ahead with Galactic Civil War 2 update for the game. Players with an active subscription on September 15 will be able to play the final months at no charge.