Free XBLA title Happy Wars surpasses 1.2m downloads

Xbox Live’s first free-to-play title Happy Wars has amassed over 1.2m players worldwide since launch.

Developer Toylogic announced the figure earlier this week, while simultaneously rolling out a new holiday-themed update for the title. The update is supposed to improve matchmaking and online stability as well.

Happy Wars debuted in October as Xbox Live’s first microtransaction-based title. The game costs nothing to play, though players can purchase Happy Tickets” with real money to upgrade the equipment and appearance of characters. Also note that the title is only available to gold subscribers of Xbox 360’s $60/year online service.

Signal Studios’ third-person role-playing game Ascend: New Gods is the next free-to-play title in line to land on Xbox Live, with a launch planned for next year.