Vanguard soft launches free-to-play a week early

If you've had your calendars marked for Vanguard's F2P launch on August 14th, you might want to get out your eraser. As of today, SOE has soft launched the title's free-to-play version for any and all to enjoy. Along with the soft launch comes a shiny new website to mark the occasion.

The good news is in today's update notes: "The free-to-play matrix is now in effect. Anyone should be able to download the game for free from our new site."

Vanguard's latest update also marks the beginning of the in-game marketplace, freedom from race and class restrictions, and a massive sweep of re-itemization.

[Thanks to MikeyMoo for the tip!]