Ghost Recon Online announced, beta sign-ups open

Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online today, a PC-based free-to-play shooter. The downloadable title is being developed by Ubisoft Singapore, and is planning for a closed beta sometime this summer. If you're interested, you can sign up for the closed beta at the official site.

Ghost Recon Online

The game will feature three Ghost classes, customizable weapons, and persistent progression. Since it's an online-centric game, Ubisoft is planning regular in-game events and content updates, along with customized content that responds to user feedback. And as a free-to-play title, it is (of course) supported by microtransactions for premium and personalization items.

"Ghost Recon Online takes the best attributes of the Ghost Recon game franchise and brings them online, making the experiences of being a Ghost accessible to millions of new players and fans," said senior producer Hugues Ricour. "This game was designed from the start to be a free-to-play experience. Our development teams are dedicated to making Ghost Recon Online a truly unique, top-quality online title."

This is Ubisoft's first attempt to dip its toes into the free-to-play shooter market. EA, one of Ubisoft's largest publishing competitors, has seen success with Battlefield Heroes and recently launched Battlefield Play4Free.

Check out the game's announcement trailer below, while pondering why it isn't named "Ghost Reconline." Missed opportunity, Ubisoft. Missed opportunity.