Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden will launch for free?!

Gameloft have just been in touch to let us know their latest title, action RPG Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden, will be galloping into the US App Store tomorrow, February the 3rd. It’s being hyped as iOS’ answer to Zelda and billed as “an amazing adventure set in a majestic world that will fascinate you for countless hours.” Sounds good, but perhaps the most intriguing thing about the game is its price-tag – $0.00! Before you get too excited though, I should probably clarify: Gameloft haven’t lost the plot and suddenly decided to start giving their big-budget games away for nothing, and instead are embracing the topical ‘freemium’ pricing model.

From the press release: “Once downloaded for free, the game will let the player take his first steps on this epic adventure. Then, if the player is prepared to take up the challenge, he will be able to unlock the full game through in-app purchase, for $6.99. This new mechanism allows Gameloft to adopt a freemium model that is becoming increasingly popular among game developers and consumers alike.”