It's free-to-play for another major Namco Bandai franchise

Namco Bandai is continuing to adopt its classic game franchises to today's digital-centric business landscape. The publisher said Friday its upcoming air combat simulator Ace Combat Infinity will be a free-to-play game, a first for the series, which originally debuted in 1992. The company said the previously-announced Ace Combat Infinity will be for PlayStation 3, and developed by Namco Bandai's Project Aces team for release later this year. The game will have a story campaign, and co-op multiplayer. The publisher did not detail how exactly the game would be monetized. Namco Bandai has been pushing further into the free-to-play space as of late, banking on its recognizable franchises. The company released the free-to-play fighting game Tekken Revolution on PS3 last month, launched a free-to-play Pac-Man on mobiles, and announced Ridge Race Driftopia for PC and PS3, due later this year. Tank! Tank! Tank! is a more recent property that saw a free-to-play version launch this year on Wii U. In a press release, Namco Bandai SVP for Europe Olivier Comte said, "The Ace Combat franchise has evolved dramatically over the years, but never before have we been able to offer its amazing graphics and tactical action for free." That's a change of tune from last year, when he said, "Free-to-play games can't be high quality." Image from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon