Official launch on Steam was Sep 28 and initially it has a lot of early users.
1) They did a long beta test and something about could get the whole game for free if you we part of the beta some how at some point but I haven't sorted through that aspect yet. If anyone here was part of it, please let us know your experience/what you think.
2) You can buy it for $39.99 in Guild Wars 2 style model where you won't have to pay a subscription fee. Yes, they do try to monetize through MTX and I'm assuming later expansion packs (if any) won't be free but in theory it's a $40 game with potentially a lot of content. Shrug.
Anyway, given the work and $$ behind this, regardless of feelings about Amazon, Amazon Game Studios, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Bezos launching himself into space, etc., this game is worthy of a thread just due to the size of the launch out the gate. If it flops, it needs a thread. If it kills, it needs a thread.