The Internet is overflowing with MMOs; most are samey medieval fantasy games, but some have genuinely novel concepts and gameplay mechanics that shake up the established MMO formula. Usually, the latter stands out and is successful, but not always. The Secret World is one such MMO. Despite it taking place in a modern world where Lovecraftian monsters wait around every corner and numerous conspiracy theories are real, the game does not have a large playerbase. As with many struggling MMOs, The Secret World is set to go F2P later this year. Kinda.

Funcom recently announced that The Secret World will be remade into the free-to-play action RPG Secret World Legends. According to Executive Producer Scott Junior, the game will feature improved combat, a new progression system, and better visuals.

“One of our biggest goals in relaunching the game has been to reimagine the core gameplay experience in a way befitting a modern-day action RPG,” explains Junior. “Secret World Legends features combat that feels more natural, deep systems that are more intuitive, better structuring of the early game for new players, and improved mission flow to strengthen the pace of progression for players.”

Oddly enough, The Secret World will remain a fully playable game separate from Secret World Legends. The Secret World will retain all the features players have come to know and love; all the combat, progression, and graphical changes will be exclusive to Secret World Legends. Everyone will start over from scratch in Secret World Legends, but gamers can transfer characters over from The Secret World if they want to keep certain cosmetics and vanity items.

Junior’s description of Secret World Legends makes it sound like The Witcher 3 with the co-op functionality of the Borderlands franchise. We expect more information on Secret World Legends soon, including how the changes will affect content like dungeons and raids. Gamers can currently sign up for the beta test.