Steel Diver to be resurrected as Nintendo's first F2P release

Nintendo's very first free-to-play title will be a multiplayer affair based on Steel Diver, the 3DS submarine sim.

Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed the news with IGN. The new game isn't just a direct port of the 3DS launch title, though - it's going multiplayer.

"There is something we’re doing with the Steel Diver idea that I think is going to open things up with that game. It’s going to be very fun," the designer said.

"We’re exploring from a perspective of where we can take that from a multiplayer standpoint - it's going to have this four-player battle mode that I think is going to be very interesting."

Nintendo hasn't yet decided how exactly the game will be monetised; Miyamoto said both microtransactions and memberships are being considered, and that the game will eventually also be available at retail. Before a decision is made, Miyamoto wants to investigate how the monetisation will affect the game's fun value.

"It's something that we're hoping to be able to show relatively soon," he added.

Thanks, Polygon.