Free-to-play Ace Combat hits PS3 next month

Free-to-play title Ace Combat Infinity will launch next month on PlayStation 3, publisher Bandai Namco has announced.

The game arrive in Japan on May 20th ; followed by its arrival in North America a week later on May 27th, and in Europe one day after that on May 28th – though the microtransaction structure within the game is still unknown at this point.

"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," the publisher’s Europe’s senior vice president Olivier Comte said in a prepared statement at the time.

"The team at Project Aces listens very carefully to its players, and is bringing the best the series has to offer to Ace Combat Infinity, with plenty of new surprises too."

In development at Project Aces, the game was originally unveiled last July in a series of teases by the studio and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon director Kazutoki Kono. It takes place in the not-too-distant future, offering solo missions along with (up to) four-player multiplayer matches.