Hi-Rez Studios, the talented team behind the recently released Tribes: Ascend recently spoke out on the possibility of a console port of their free-to-play game… basically saying that there isn't one. As of right now, it looks like their latest entry in the high-speed online shooter franchise will remain a PC exclusive, as there are currently "no plans" to bring it to any other platforms.
Sad, we know, but considering how strict the online marketplaces are for both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, it's understandable to see how a game so heavily focused on micro-transactions just isn't feasible on the current consoles. Speaking to Gamasutra, studio COO Todd Harris shared how their original plan was to bring it to all three platforms, but after deciding to go F2P, they had to rule out the PS3 and Xbox 360.
"We do not have any plans for Tribes on console at this time. The way it went is that we wanted to do the free-to-play model, and there wasn't a clear path to that on consoles early on. Based on that, we optimized the game around the strengths of the PC, and specifically a keyboard and mouse control," he said. "Once we decided it'd only be on the PC, we optimized [gameplay] around speed, a quick turn radius, and things that are optimized for PC game controls."
Harris went on to add that while things may have not worked out for consoles in the case of Tribes, that doesn't mean they aren't looking to bring something like this to the consoles in the future. "We're still interested in free-to-play on consoles, but at this point, we have nothing specific to Tribes on console. I do expect the consoles will see more and more free-to-play, certainly the new generation, and possibly the existing generation as well."
