GamersFirst has officially acquired Fallen Earth and will be switching the game to a hybrid free-to-play model during the fourth quarter of this year. This news shouldn't come as much of a surprise since Fallen Earth announced a couple weeks ago that it had teamed up with GamersFirst "in order to continue the game's ongoing support and sort of improve its development costs."

So what will the free-to-play model look like for Fallen Earth? Massively got the details during a conference call with GamersFirst and Fallen Earth representatives, and it looks like the game will have four tiers: free, silver, gold and VIP. The subscriptions tiers will vary in price and offer numerous perks, such as enhanced exp gain and reward points that will allow you to purchase items in the store. The top tier will allow players to share their bonuses with everyone in their party.

According to a press release, current subscribers who maintain their subscriptions through the estimated five-month transition period will collect significant rewards when the game completes the transition. The current 12-person creative team behind Fallen Earth, headed by Lead Game Designer Marie “Aro Sei” Croall, will remain intact and join GamersFirst’s development studio Reloaded Productions.

UPDATE: GamersFirst has kicked off a new Fallen Earth developer blog, and the first installment focuses on the free-to-play switch.