Phantasy Star Online 2 will be free to play, confirms Sega

Fans of free stuff will be thrilled to know that Sega‘s next MMORPG, Phantasy Star Online 2, will be – yes! – free. Well, free to play, but presumably a bit less free to play if you actually want things to play with. As usual, item micro-transaction fees apply.

Sega has also added iOS and Android versions of the game to the launch lineup, although these will reportedly offer a “more personal”, “simpler experience” with “social game elements”. So, basically, you log in with your Facebook credentials? Probably.

The PC version of the game is due out in “early summer” (so pretty soon), while the PS Vita version is scheduled to ship next year, with the smartphone version coming out sometime in between those. The PC and PS Vita versions of the game apparently feature cross-platform play.

There’s also a closed beta for 100,000 participants happening in April.

For the moment, the game is confirmed for a Japanese release only, although the previous Phantasy Star Online (first launched for the Sega Dreamcast back in 2000) made its way over to western markets too. So hang in there, weeaboos.