starsiege posts

Earlier this week developer Hi-Rez Studios revealed that it had acquired the rights to the Tribes game franchise with plans to make a first person shooter MMO called Tribes Universe. Today it launched a web site that will allow folks to sign up to be picked to participate in the upcoming alpha test for the game.

Alpha testing for the new game is expected to begin in early 2011. The press release also confirms that the acquisition of the Tribes IP also includes the previous games in the game's Starsiege universe. As you can see above the logo for Tribes Universe has also been revealed.

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Online multiplayer games owe a debt to a brave few that took the classic, minimalized gameplay and elevated it beyond tiny arenas and small teams. Games like the Battlefield series or Freelancer would not exist without some of these incredible, genre-busting, landscape-changing experiences. Starsiege: Tribes is one of these games, and thanks to the machinations of those behind the intellectual property, it is available for free to anybody wanting to give it a try. And try it you should, because its massive multiplayer mayhem philosophy exudes influence on designers even in the modern day.