It is, and supposedly it's free to play the old AO game (which is all I was ever familiar with) till 2008, altho most players agree it'll probably be free "forever." I haven't looked up the details yet cuz I'm considering trying to go in for the paid version once my free month ends... download the expansions and what not. That or I'll try out the truly free version, which apparently doesn't have some "perks" and stuff that the paid version does. My game time right now is a free version of the paid version so that's why it's limited to one month... one of those "get rehooked" emails they occasionally send cancelled account holders.

The difference between AO and a game like Maple Story or SilkRoad is that it was originally a paid game and designed as such... infinitely better than the average free MMO. It's also great cuz you can play by yourself whenever you want, log in for a quick mission and then log out if you want. Or go find people and play for hours, whatever fits your style. ^_^