We've been chronicling the rise of a new generation of free-to-play shooters over the past few months, bringing you our lineup of the top five F2P shooters currently available and detailing how free shooters have finally hit a crucial turning point where "free" should no longer be considered a warning label. We've labeled this turning point Free-to-Play 2.0, and it's about to become a full-on transition thanks to a sizable crop of upcoming F2P shooters that will make you think twice about spending $60 on a retail shooter ever again.
PlanetSide 2
Developer: Sony Online Entertainment
Release Date: TBA 2012, expected sometime this fall
What else can we say about PlanetSide 2? We named it the best Shooter, PC Exclusive, and Free-to-Play Game of E3 2012, and our impressions only improved after going hands-on with PlanetSide 2 at a recent SOE event. PS2 puts the "massive" in MMOFPS with up to 2,000 players doing online battle, and its potential is as enormous as its maps.
Why it's one to watch: Multiple classes and vehicles will make it a sci-fi Battlefield, only with three factions, a persistent online world instead of individual maps, and a size and scope that makes Battlefield's 64 player battles look puny.
Ghost Recon Online
Developer: Ubisoft Singapore
Release Date: TBA 2012, now in open beta
Ghost Recon Online offers a better competitive multiplayer experience than Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. That's meant as a compliment to GRO, not a dig at Future Soldier. GRO offers a seamless mix of third- and first-person action, with a hassle-free cover mechanic, and unique MOBA-like abilities. It's an overall package that, in my opinion, is a step above Future Soldier's multiplayer, in no small part because it's free. Don't take my word for it. Ghost Recon Online is in open beta right now.
Why it's one to watch: All the near-future gadgets of Future Soldier, but with high-tech offensive and defensive abilities for each class that add a great rock-paper-scissors layer of depth to overall gameplay.
Warface
Developer: Crytek Kiev
Release Date: TBA 2012
Crytek is putting CryEngine 3 to use in a free shooter for the first time with Warface, so if nothing else, it will be a pretty game (with a silly name). It offers another class-based, near-future take on multiplayer war but it will stand out from others in the F2P shooter field by including co-op PvE missions. If the AI is any good, Crytek could be serving up a new way to get your shooter campaign fix, for free.
Why it stands out: If Warface's success in Russia is any indication, it's a blast. First launched in the Land of Rus, Warface boasts 2 million registered users and has set a concurrent player record. Europe and North America will find out what all the fuss is about sometime this fall.
Offensive Combat
Developer: U4ia Games
Release Date: TBA 2012
Why so ssserious? Offensive Combat is all over the map, and that's just the way U4ia games wants it. Extensive customization options will allow players to create a character that suits their play style, from a standard soldier to a giant banana man. It's ridiculous and it's meant to be, with a wide variety of taunts available to add to the over-the-top fun.
Why it stands out: The massive list of serious, hardcore shooters continues to grow while Valve continues to corner the market on silly fun with Team Fortress 2. Nice to know there will be a new wacky option.
Tactical Intervention
Developer: FIX Korea
Release Date: TBA 2012
Min "Gooseman" Le, one of the co-creators of the original Counter-Strike mod, is working on a new game. Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about Tactical Intervention. It's an FPS in the mold of Counter-Strike, only with a number of bells and whistles that have been introduced to the shooter genre over the years – bells and whistles Counter-Strike has ignored.
Why it stands out: Counter-Strike with aiming down the iron sights. That may be blasphemy to CS loyalists, but it's a key feature omission to others. One note of warning, though: Tactical Intervention was originally announced in 2009 and set for launch in 2010. Could be that Min Le is just taking his time. It could also mean Tactical Intervention is a mess. Lucky for us all, it's free to find out.
Mercenary Ops
Developer: Yingpei Games
Release Date: TBA 2012
If, like me, you enjoyed playing the original Gears of War on PC back in the day and grumbled when its two sequels were made Xbox 360 exclusives, Mercenary Ops could be the next best thing. This third-person, cover-based shooter takes more than a page from the Gears franchise, it takes every core gameplay mechanic. Mercenary Ops is Gears of War in a new skin, and for PC gamers who missed GoW 2 and 3, that's not a bad thing.
Why it stands out: Like Warface, Mercenary Ops will also feature a co-op mode, and yes, it will basically be a clone of Gears of War's popular horde mode. Again, because we've missed out on Gears the past five years, that's not a bad thing. And hey, it's free.