Free-to-play games on the Xbox 360, which rumour has it is a model Microsoft is exploring, are “inevitable,” according to one publisher. A publisher of a free-to-play game waiting to publish on the Xbox 360.
“At least from our conversations, both Sony and Microsoft are moving there strategically but there are still some things to be worked out on both the business side and the technical side and the certification side regarding frequency of patches,” says Todd Harris of Hi-Rez studios, whose Tribes: Ascend is a multiplayer FPS coming to the PC and, Hi-Rez hopes, the 360.
“And those issues just need further advancement before we would be comfortable putting a release timeframe on a console version,” Harris said. “It’s not the case of ‘never’, but we know all those things we can handle on the PC, so that’s why PC is first.”
Last month, Develop reported that Microsoft was sounding out studios about free-to-play appetite on the Xbox 360. The platform currently has no such titles. Three months ago, IGN reported that Microsoft was working on free-to-play support systems over Xbox Live, with the intent of having them available next year.
“They’re seeing where the industry is going,” Harris said. “It’s inevitable that Microsoft will move towards that because the industry is moving towards that, and once that groundwork has been laid we would be in a better position to consider Tribes: Ascend for Xbox.”
Free-to-Play on Xbox 360 ‘Inevitable’ [Eurogamer]
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