But that takes all the fun out of it. :(

=O A fellow Nexus player on GOG! What are the chances? (considering the state of the playerbase currently)

Considering that the game is 16 years old, it probably has a bit better chance on GoG than other sites, but it's still pretty slim. I played the game on and off for 10 years, but only registered to keep from being purged for the last few. I think they'd both increase the player base and earn more money if they removed the subscription fee and focused on the item shop, but I doubt they'd do that.

I don't think free to play is entirely unlikely for Nexus, but it will probably be more along the lines of a "freemium" model, where there's still a subscription for those who want it. That's what Dark Ages has, and if KRU ever decide to do something like this, they will probably go with the business model they already know.