I've been playing Ikariam for a while now and since I started I noticed Gameforge churning out quite a few free to play titles. I brought you this because I wanted to highlight just well free to play is doing. Ikariam works on a micro payments model where you can pay real money to buy Ambrosia which gives you various bonuses like increased resource productivity.

They are now pairing up with curse.com (a large MMG portal) to further promote their brand

Press Release follows:

"Curse to Launch Page for Free-To-Play, Web-Based Title IkariamThis Release's Tags

Gameforge Productions INC, a developer and publisher of browser-based multiplayer titles, has announced a media partnership with Curse INC, the premier web portal for massively multiplayer games and gamers.

The first Gameforge page on Curse.com will feature Ikariam, a web-based multiplayer title set in ancient islands in the Mediterranean that focuses on trade, warfare, and city-building. Players can manage resources and trade valuables with gamers from around the globe as they turn a small patch of coastal land into a full-fledged empire spanning dozens of islands.

“One of our goals is to forge strong relationships within the game industry, extending our brand in the United States,” said Lars Koschin, CEO of Gameforge Productions INC. “Curse, with its established roots within the core MMORPG audience, is a perfect partner for Ikariam and our upcoming games.”

“We believe that Gameforge titles are ideal for MMO players who are dedicated to one or more ‘hardcore’ MMORPGs” said Hubert Thieblot, the founder and CEO of Curse. “Ikariam, with its play-at-your-own-pace approachability and strong in-game community, is perfect for gamers who have few minutes to spare while crafting or waiting for their party to arrive.”
The Ikariam page on Curse will launch shortly and will include game news, forums, database, and other features. This is the second strategic media partnership that Gameforge has announced within the United States, the first being with MMORPG social networking site, MMOABC.

More information about Gameforge is available at www.gameforge.com
More information about Curse is available at www.curse.com "