The Gods & Heroes team just announced on Friday that their Roman-themed MMORPG will be going Free-to-Play as they continue to iron out the details on a full F2P transition. This probably means the addition of a microtransaction store and various "freemium" options. The G&H team, however, are not ones to hurt their players, so they've decided that while they work to make this major transition, they will be eliminating all subscription fees to their game.

In the end, they note that with continued support, Gods & Heroes will evolve and ultimately be able to relaunch stronger than ever. Best of luck!

Do you want to take a tour of Heatwave Interactive's studio and meet the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising team? Can you make it to Austin, Texas on October 14, which happens to be during GDC Online? Then you might want to register to attend Gods & Heroes Community Day! Heatwave only has room for 10 players, so be sure to RSVP as soon as possible. The event ends with dinner at Salt Lick BBQ, which makes it even more enticing.

In other news, Heatwave recently published the first excerpt from the upcoming book series based on Gods & Heroes, which is being written by an "award-winning author." The second excerpt will be revealed this Friday. More details will be revealed as Heatwave gets closer to publishing the first novel.

Heatwave Interactive launched a Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising free trial last month that lasted for three days. If you'd like to explore Ancient Rome for a little longer, you'll be happy to hear that the free trial was extended today to seven days! Head over to the free trial site and sign up to play Gods & Heroes for a full week without spending a single penny.

If you decide to upgrade to the full version of Gods & Heroes, the price of retail and digital versions of the game recently dropped to $29.99.

Heatwave Interactive has kicked off a new series of production blog posts on the Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising official forums. Associate Producer Mike Metzler has already penned a couple of posts that focus on the future of the game and crafting. Here's a summary of his main points:

• Players can now expect a regular patch every Thursday that will occur sometime between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. CDT.
• Level 30-40 content is currently in development.
• Heatwave is looking at “Rule Rome” as a the focal point for their vision. It seems players are interested in actual Roman history, politics and culture with a heavy emphasis on the Estates.
• Crafting is out of the planning stage and is officially being worked on. The tech is scheduled to be complete on October 1, and crafting content will follow. "Down the road, we have a vision for an amazing crafting system being run through the estates in a way that would make your head explode if I even began talking about it," Metzler said.

If you're interested in trying out Gods & Heroes, Heatwave recently launched a 3-day free trial.

Heatwave Interactive just released a new 3-day free trial for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising! If you're at all interested in trying out this MMO that focuses on Roman mythology, then now's your chance to do it without spending a single penny.

If you decide to upgrade to the full version of Gods & Heroes, you'll be happy to know that the price of retail and digital versions of the game recently dropped to $29.99. The new ranged Scout class was also added to the MMO last week.

Heatwave Interactive has announced the first fan fiction contest for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. All you need to do is write a story between 500-700 words based on Ancient Rome and mythology in the God & Heroes timeline with your original character and submit it by August 15. Winners will be announced in the August Live Dev Chat on Ustream on August 23.

So what are the prizes? Here's the haul for the grand prize winner:

• A wearable Gods & Heroes Roman helmet.
• An NPC named after his or her fictional character.
• His or her story may be used in a quest line.
• A special contest winner forum icon.
• 30 days of free game time.
• A Gods & Heroes T-shirt.

As part of today's patch, Heatwave Interactive added the playable Scout class to Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising. The Scout is a ranged combat specialist that uses a sling or bow to battle his foes. Watch the trailer below to see the class in action.

Last week, Heatwave Interactive dropped the price of both the digital and retail versions of Gods & Heroes to $29.99 in an attempt to remain competitive with other MMO prices. If that's not enough of a price cut for you, the game is 50% off on Steam this week! That means you can pick up Gods & Heroes for only $14.99.

Last week, Heatwave Interactive dropped the price of both the digital and retail versions of Gods & Heroes to $29.99 in an attempt to remain competitive with other MMO prices. If that's not enough of a price cut for you, the game is 50% off on Steam this week! That means you can pick up Gods & Heroes for only $14.99.

If you have any questions for the Heatwave team, you can ask them during their live Ustream dev chat tomorrow, July 26 at 2 p.m. CDT.

Heatwave Interactive has some big plans for Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising only a month after its official launch. In an attempt to entice more players to join the game and increase its population, the price of retail and digital versions of the MMO will be dropped to $29.99. The company will be rewarding the "Founders of Rome" community by giving everyone who subscribes by July 31 an exclusive Batillus minion.

UPDATE: In his latest State of the Republic address, Executive Producer Anthony Castoro addressed the price cut. "I’d like to offer everyone who purchased the game before today the option of a free month. I’ll leave it up to you," he said.

In addition to the price cut, Heatwave will introduce the Scout class to the game next week. The Scout is a ranged combat specialist that uses a sling or bow to battle his foes. You can see the class in action in the video below.

Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising officially launched two weeks ago, and Heatwave Interactive has released a new gameplay trailer to show off the epic mythology of Rome circa 300 BC. Check it out below!

Heatwave worked hard to bring this game back to life after the project was abandoned by a different game company. We recently sat down with Heatwave CEO Anthony Castoro to learn the history behind Gods & Heroes, and it's definitely a fascinating story.