Command and Conquer Generals 2 taking the free to play route

Today at Gamescom, Electronic Arts announced that their newest game in the Command and Conquer franchise is being converted to the ‘free to play’ model.  Command and Conquer Generals 2, a triple-A strategy game, will cost nothing for people to digitally download and play.  While there still isn’t a definite release date, it will launch sometime in 2013.

Along with this announcement is the opportunity to participate in the beta.  You can sign up for that HERE.  Even though you’ll never have to spend a dime on the game, the beta is a good opportunity to test it out before the official release to see if it’s something you want to dedicate time too.

Jon Can Caneghem, VP/GM at EA said, “We are thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command and Conquer into a premier online experience.  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 and Conquer universe, starting with Generals and continuing with Red Alert, Tiberium, and beyond. 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.”

As an RTS and C&C Generals fan, this news is amazing to me.  I’ve been saying it for a while now, but free to play is the future of online PC gaming.

Nerf Infantry China.

Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ