Command & Conquer free to play RTS game on the way

EA and BioWare Victory have announced that the Command & Conquer Generals 2 game will be converted into a free to play RTS called simply “Command & Conquer”. In recent years enthusiasm in C&C has died down a fair amount as the newer releases increasingly disillusioned the C&C fans.

The lackluster fourth installment that tried to implement many changes to the core recipe pretty much hammered the last nail in. Fortunately for C&C fans, a brand new instalment, Command & Conquer Generals 2 was confirmed last year and it seemed that the new BioWare Victory studio was going back to the franchise’s roots.

Now, however, things have completely changed, as EA has confirmed that Generals 2 is being transformed into a free-to-play RTS experience called simply Command & Conquer.

“We are thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command and Conquer into a premier online experience,” said Jon Van Caneghem, VP/GM at EA. “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.”

Why is this free?
As we talked with more strategy fans, we found major interest in a free-to-play game, as long as it maintained authenticity to the franchise and exceeded expectations for a modern AAA RTS. So we decided to take Generals 2 in an exciting new direction as EA.s first HD, free online game . Command & Conquer. The Generals 2 universe is the first of many free offerings that we will deliver with Command & Conquer.

Will it still use Frostbite?
Yes, Command & Conquer is powered by Frostbite 2 . the powerful engine you may know from Battlefield 3. You will be able to experience the cutting edge visuals, sound and destruction of a full AAA frontline franchise for free.

Is this a browser game? Is this a social or Facebook game?
No, Command & Conquer is a full standalone client . a high quality game powered by Frostbite 2.

What happens to Generals 2?
The Generals 2 universe will be the first of many free offerings that we will deliver with Command & Conquer. The content that we have already created will be part of this new free-to-play experience.

Will there be a traditional single player campaign?
Not at launch. We are currently focused on building a fun, high quality RTS experience that we want to get in your hands on as soon as possible. From there, we will continuously evaluate additional content based on a variety of player feedback methods

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