14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Q-Games has announced that PixelJunk Monsters, a game that has been so far only offered on the PlayStation Network from Sony, will be launched on social networks in the coming months using a free-to-play model.
The announcement was made at the Casual Connect conference that took place in Seattle.
The original game was launched in 2008 and was one of the first to use the now ubiquitous tower defense game model.
The developers have not said what social networks they plan to target for the re-release of PixelJunk Monsters, but Facebook will probably be the main target, especially because of the large player base that can be targeted.
The free-to-play version of the game will see enemies move along a pre-determined unique path and gamers will be able to use seeds and shovels in order to create new locations on the game map in order to grow new towers.
The new level maps will be grid based and, as they play and stop enemies, players will be able to accumulate more shovels in their inventory, using them as they go along in order to get access to new map locations and new stages.
Q-Games was not specific about how microtransactions will be integrated into the social network version of PixelJunk Monsters, but it seems probable that those who have problems with progression will be able to pay real-world money in order to get shovels and unlock new content.
Leaderboards will be part of the new game experience and more social elements are also planned, although it's not clear whether the developers will integrate full cooperative play.
Free-to-play games have become pretty important in the last few years, especially on platforms like Facebook, and developers have become interested in creating game experiences that are easy to learn and engage with and can keep gamers interested in the long term.