At their PAX Prime 2013 booth, Wargaming laid out the way Microsoft has allowed them to redefine Xbox Live's rules and restrictions to bring the massive free-to-play sensation World of Tanks to Xbox 360.
Certainly Microsoft's current generation Xbox console could use a major multiplayer game with an ever-evolving community to give gamers a reason to hold on. With Xbox One backwards compatiblity out of the question (at least currently), Microsoft turned to Wargaming for software to get fans excited despite the looming next generation.
Microsoft approached Wargaming, but certain concessions had to be made to allow for Wargaming's design philosophy of constantly evolving content, said Senior Marketing Product Manager Patrick Alvarado. With World of Tanks at version 8.7 on PC, Microsoft had to allow the new Wargaming West based in Chicago the freedom to iterate on their port to Xbox 360. That's why Microsoft has announced that it's rolling back expensive fees for certification and patching for developers on Xbox.
Wargaming had another stipulation. With Xbox Live Gold membership required to play online on Xbox 360, the developers in Chicago responsible for this new version wanted to ensure that even gamers who didn't have Xbox Live Gold could try the game and decide if they wanted to subscribe for the tank-on-tank action. When World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition launches, gamers will be able to download the title and enjoy seven days of Tank time, even without Gold. "This was something that's never been done before, but Microsoft wanted World of Tanks on the platform," Alvarado said.
World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition is still in closed beta, but you can hop in the action right now with one of the codes Wargaming gave me at their booth today. Simply power up your Xbox 360, redeem the code and download! You can play with other people around the world, as well as PAX goers here in Seattle. There are only four codes below, but we will hopefully get more soon, and be sure to check back here next week for a full hands-on preview of World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition.
First come first serve! Let us know if you snagged a code by announcing your conquest in the comments. I copied these by hand, so if you try a code and it doesn't work, first make sure you entered it correctly, and then PM me with the code as I posted it below. I'll check my mistake and reply with the code so even if you're first to let me know of my mistake, you'll still get the code:
HR39D-DM7X9-XVKF7-3QMR4-79KFZ
JJ2JV-47P66-RWDR7-29QDK-KX7TZ
2FXCM-T3KQ2-T977T-C3Y6K-RF7FZ
C7RFF-DPD9V-M9G27-V732P-G937Z
