Namco Announce Free-To-Play Ridge Racer Title

Namco evidently recognise the emerging free-to-play space as an important one to be part of as they announce Ridge Racer: Driftopia for PS3 and PC later this year.

No solid release date has been given yet, and details are thin on the ground. Looking to build more on the Unbounded game than the traditional Ridge Racer experience, if the trailer’s look is anything to go by, Namco have come under some slack for being lax with the franchise as late. Hopefully, this experience will be completely focused on the insane drifting that is the series’ signature element. You’d think with a name like Driftopia, that’d be the case, but you never can tell, especially as Burnout-style shunting can be seen in the early footage, as well as a rundown city setting.

Ridge Racer has been in danger of becoming stale for some time now, and plenty seem to have abandoned it. This could be the biggest reason that the free-to-play model was chosen for this product; after all, what harm is there in merely trying something that’s free? It’s likely there’s gonna be a thread of paid content in here, be it from simple customisation options to complete cars and tracks. The former is highly preferable as buying cars reeks of pay-to-win, which ruins many free-to-play offerings already in the PC market.

Watch the trailer below and see what you think.