It seems like virtually everyday another story pops up about a popular franchise going free-to-play.  Today EA announced that their newest C&C title, Generals 2 will be the first of many new titles coming to Origin with free-to-play options.  The game will also make use of DICE’s new Frostbite 2 engine, which looks extremely impressive.

“We are thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command & Conquer into a premier online experience,” said Jon Van Caneghem, VP/GM at EA. “For nearly two decades, this franchise has existed as something you buy; now we are creating a destination where our fans will be able to access the entire Command & Conquer universe, starting with Generals and continuing with Red Alert, Tiberium and beyond. With Frostbite 2, we are able to keep an emphasis on the AAA quality our consumers expect while staying true to the RTS gameplay they know and love – all available online for free.”

I’ve included the new trailer for your viewing pleasure.

I’m curious to hear what you all think of this free-to-play world we’re now living in.  My personal experience has been that these sorts of games end up costing you way more once you actually pay to unlock all the game’s real features so I’m not exactly the biggest fan.  What I do enjoy though is that you get access to about 80% of the game for free, which acts sort of like the ultimate demo if you will.