Real Racing 3 going free-to-play, microtransactions included

Real Racing 3 developer FireMonkeys has decided to take the next instalment of its critically-acclaimed racing series free-to-play under publisher EA. That - of course - means microtransactions will be involved, and it's got fans upset.

The game launches on February 28th, and following a furore over the free-to-play announcement, FireMonkeys' studio spokesperson Sam Mayo has spoken with fans on the developer's official forum to address concerns about the game's direction. "We are so excited about this game", he said, "and wanted it to be accessible to everyone so we didn't want there to be any barriers to entry."

He claims that the decision to go 'freemium' was made from day one and is integral to the experience, presumably due to the integration of in-app purchases. However, there will also be free post-launch content as well, so it won't all be paid.

In fact, the game has a lot of content out of the box, Mayo stated, "At launch we have 46 licensed vehicles covering 3 classes, a 22 car grid, real world tracks, 8 varied event types and 900+ events. This means hundreds of hours of gameplay for free making this one of the most expansive games ever on mobile."

In an interview with MarketWatch, EA rep Nick Earl stressed how integral payments were to the experience by saying, “You can’t really retro-fit this."

What's your take on the embedded nature of microtransactions? Let us know below.

Thanks Player Attack.