Free To Play Command and Conquer Launching in 2013

[Hevva]

Free To Play Command and Conquer Launching in 2013

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EA is promising a fully-fledged, free to play RTS experience.

Having very recently announced changes to its Origin service that will allow the platform to support free to play games [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119057-EA-Bringing-Digital-Distribution-to-Additional-Platforms], EA has now let loose details on one of the first such titles. Speaking at Gamescom, the publisher revealed that Command & Conquer Generals 2 will be released as a free to play online title in early 2013. You can take a peek at some gameplay clips in the trailer to the right.

Powered by the Frostbite 2 engine, EA claims that this free to play version of the game will feature all of the graphical sound and fury of a "full AAA strategy game." While Generals 2 will be on its lonesome at first, the publisher also says that it plans to release a raft of other free to play Command & Conquer titles on the same platform in the future.

EA's vice president, Jon Van Cagenhem, is apparently "thrilled" with this news. "For nearly two decades, this franchise has existed as something you buy; now we are creating a destination where our fans will be able to access the entire Command & Conquer universe, starting with Generals and continuing with Red Alert, Tiberium and beyond," he said. "With Frostbite 2, we are able to keep an emphasis on the AAA quality our consumers expect while staying true to the RTS gameplay they know and love - all available online for free."

If you'd like to sign up for the Generals 2 closed beta, which is open now, just head on over to the Command & Conquer website [http://www.commandandconquer.com/free/]. While the news that EA has given out about this free to play title and its prospective, future brethren doesn't mention how the company plans to make money from them - 10-cent tanks, maybe? - expect to hear about the nitty gritty over the coming months.




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[Worgen]

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

 

[gigastar]

So assuming that the online multiplayer is free, suppose that means were paying for the campaigns and for extra units.

It might work as an incentive to get new players into the franchise, but whether its a train wreck or not will be up to how much the executives want to fuck with it.

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

They would have to expend extra effort to do worse than that... I would hope.

 

[William Dickbringer]

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

and isn't bioware making this too? cause if so this isn't gonna be pretty
EDITED: been told not bioware but another company with bioware in it's name ok clarified

 

[gigastar]

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

and isn't bioware making this too? cause if so this isn't gonna be pretty

Bioware isnt making it. The developers are a mix of people from EA Los Angeles (the former C&C dev team) and Visceral Games, the team used to be called Victory Games, until Generals 2 was formally annoucned at the Spike VGAs when they were renamed Bioware Victory.

To reiterate, not Bioware.

 

[William Dickbringer]

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

and isn't bioware making this too? cause if so this isn't gonna be pretty

Bioware isnt making it. The developers are a mix of people from EA Los Angeles (the former C&C dev team) and Visceral Games, the team used to be called Victory Games, until Generals 2 was formally annoucned at the Spike VGAs when they were renamed Bioware Victory.

To reiterate, not Bioware.

oh ok that makes sense thanks for clairifying

 

[Simonccx]

Oh great, another franchise dug up and re-murdered. I would happily buy a good C&C game, but free to play which will be poor quality and not free to play properly... GRRR

 

[Winston Chang]

Origin required, no Single-player (on launch), to a lesser extent F2P...
I've been a cautiously staunch supporter even throughout all the debacles EA has been engulfed in this year. But this news is the bit that has broken my support. Murdering the Command & Conquer universe with the past abysmal C&C4, mediocre RA3, and this soon to be abomination.
All C&C universes soon to be a memory at this point.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Given how great a job they did on C&C4, I see this going well. >.>

and isn't bioware making this too? cause if so this isn't gonna be pretty

The studio that is creating the game has 'Bioware' in it's name, but I don't think there are any personnel from the original Bioware group with them.

EDIT: Ninjaed, sorry.

 

[Bernzz]

EA, you've murdered this franchise enough with C&C 4.

Just...stop.

 

[mirage202]

TL;DR - We killed it with C&C4, now we are just making sure the concrete has set and the corpse remains buried.

 

[Johnson McGee]

C&C 4 and now this... gives me the impression EA is just flailing in every direction hoping to hit the 'unseat Starcraft as dominant RTS' button instead of actually working on innovating the franchise.