***This blog has been updated as of 9:00 am PT on 06/11/2019 to reflect that Quarterly premium payment options will continue to be available to new signups until we are ready to unveil the new additional  Premium plan.  ***

***This blog post has been updated as of 2:40 pm PT on 06/03/2019 to reflect that the purchase option to lock in another cycle is now available. Please read below for more information ***

*** This original blog post has been updated as of 04:55 pm PT on 05/31/2019 and is noted below where the updates have been made***

UPDATE: The limited-time opportunity for existing Premium members to lock in their current rates for one more billing cycle, including extending an existing monthly to use the current full year rate by upgrading now to annual is now available on the premium page. Simply renew before June 24th to extend your current Membership at the same low rate. For example, monthly members will be billed at the lower rate for one more monthly billing cycle, while annual members may renew (or monthly users may upgrade to annual) early to add one more year to your existing Membership at the current lower rate. If you have any trouble accessing the website, please note that it may be due to an increase in traffic and that the option will be available until the end of the day on June 24th.

LAND PRICE REDUCTIONS
Full Region Prices Reduced Again!

It’s happening again! As Second Life begins its 16th birthday next month, we’re celebrating by reducing Full Region prices by as much as $20/month! That’s more savings than ever to build, create and design your own home, business or experience in Second Life.

This round of pricing changes continues our commitment to improving the overall health of the Second Life economy, which had historically overly relied on payments for land. This change follows last year’s 15% Private Estates price drop and 10% Mainland price reduction and doubling of land allotment for Premium Members.  Excitingly, this is the first time we’re also lowering prices on grandfathered and buydown regions!

Check out the latest savings:

* Please note that these price reductions do not apply to Skilled Gaming Regions.  Education/Nonprofit (EDU/NP) discounted full islands will be re-priced to maintain their 50% discount off the regularly priced full islands. Further, Residents who live in some European Union countries may also be charged value-added tax (VAT) on Land fees in accordance with sales tax regulations. Please visit our VAT Policy page for more details and our Corporate Pricing page for a list of impacted countries.

PREMIUM & BASIC ACCOUNT CHANGES
New Perks, Price Changes & More

We’re also increasing the value of Premium Membership with higher limits on Group memberships and increasing caps on offline Instant Messages (IMs). These changes are coming just a few weeks after the debut of new themes and larger options for Linden Homes, which are available exclusively to Premium Members (who may alternatively opt to use their 1024m² tier allotment towards a parcel on the Mainland). Other Premium benefits remain unchanged, including the weekly L$300 stipend, Premium virtual gifts, expanded live-chat customer support, exclusive access to Premium areas, priority access to nearly full regions and experiences, and more.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s changing:

***This blog post edited @ 4:50 p.m. on May 31 to update the Premium Feature Changes chart and remove references to Basic Group Membership Limit changes. See the blog post Group Limits Update for more details.***

Even more improvements to Premium Membership are coming later this year: more new Linden Home themes and options as well as the introduction of an all-new membership level for those who want to get the absolute most out of their Second Life. Look out for updates to Events and more limit increases as well.  

While we continue to enhance the quality of Premium Membership, we’ve also made the difficult decision to make our first Premium price increase in over a decade. To see what’s changing, check out the chart below:

  * Quarterly plans may be renewed, but are no longer available for new Premium Memberships
  ** Plus VAT in some European Union countries (if applicable)

Please note that monthly and quarterly Premium Memberships for Residents who live in some European Union countries may also be charged value-added tax (VAT) in accordance with sales tax regulations. Please visit our VAT Policy page for more details and our Corporate Pricing page for a list of impacted countries.

To help with the transition to the new pricing, starting June 3, we’re offering a limited-time opportunity for existing Premium members to lock in their current rates for one more billing cycle, including extending an existing monthly to use the current full year rate by upgrading now to annual. Simply renew before June 24th to extend your current Membership at the same low rate. For example, monthly members will be billed at the lower rate for one more monthly billing cycle, while annual members may renew (or monthly users may upgrade to annual) early to add one more year to your existing Membership at the current lower rate. We will update when the option becomes available on June 3rd. Until then - if you are not up for renewal already, you will not see the option to lock in your current price. Keep an eye out for updates.

CREDIT PROCESSING FEE CHANGE

Effective June 24, the fee for processing credit transactions (i.e. paying real money into a PayPal or Skrill account) will be 5% per transaction with a minimum fee of US$3 (there is no maximum fee).  The fee is currently 2.5% per transaction. This fee change offsets increased regulatory and compliance costs to Linden Lab and is in line with our continued commitment to the long-term successful operation of Second Life.

IN CONCLUSION

This is a lot of change, and we appreciate that Residents will have questions and thoughts about the impact of these announcements. Please know that we are always aware of the responsibility we have in keeping Second Life a vibrant and successful world, and we do not make these changes lightly.

Our goal with today's announced pricing and feature changes is to proactively evolve and strengthen the Second Life economy. We hope that these ongoing efforts to bring a better balance to Second Life will ensure a prosperous future for the entire community for the next 16 years and beyond.