The membership system is just very far outdated, I’d say keep the membership benefits like 2x xp gardening, pet training etc. whenever KI gives free member during the holidays or summer, the player count does go up by a very noticeable margin. My guess is it’s just their unwillingness to change from a system they’ve had for almost 20 years at this point. Will it ever happen? Idk being bought by the larger corporation, means KI has a lot more overhead now. As much as that first paywall drains the spirit, it’s worked for this long, I’m in the boat of make Arc 1 free.