Crytek's Free-To-Play FPS Warface Expands To Russia

Crytek's free-to-play, online first-person shooter Warface, will launch in Russia and its neighboring CIS countries next year, published and operated by internet services company Mail.Ru Group. Warface is Crytek's first free-to-play title, and has so far picked up publishers in two major emerging markets, China (Tencent Holdings) and Russia. The Frankfurt-based developer plans a Western release for the game in 2012 but has not yet announced partners for other regions. Developed by Crytek Kiev, and co-produced by Crytek Seoul and Crytek Frankfurt, the team-based military shooter is built on the company's CryEngine 3 game engine. Warface will have co-op and Player vs. Environment missions, as well as Player vs. Player gameplay. The game joins a growing list of free-to-play first-person shooters that have found success overseas, such as Doobic Studio's Combat Arms and SmileGate's Sudden Attack. It's becoming a popular space in the West, too, with titles like Team Fortress 2 and recent Counter-Strike entries. Mail.ru has brought a number of MMOs that were originally developed in other countries to Russia, including Perfect World II, Neverland, and Silkroad Online. Earlier this year, it struck a deal with Germany's Bigpoint to share each other's titles on their respective game portals. "With Mail.Ru Group we have found a perfect partner for publishing Warface in Russia and we are looking forward to releasing Crytek's newest IP together." says Crytek GmbH's managing director Avni Yerli. He adds, "Given Mail.Ru Group's incredible experience and expertise we are convinced that Warface will raise the quality bar and set the standard for the next generation of massively multiplayer online shooters."