After dipping their toes in with Tekken and Soul Calibur, it seems like Bamco is ready to go all-in on the F2P model with their new game, Rise of Incarnates. Details are scarce but it's going to be a 2v2 arena fighting game that looks very reminiscent of Anarchy Reigns. Perhaps most intriguing is the fact that this late-2014 release is going to be only available on PC, with no known plans for console ports at any point in the future. I guess they're courting that Asian market. Here's the trailer/press release/some screens:

RISE OF INCARNATES COMBINES GROUND-BREAKING 2 vs. 2 GAMEPLAY AND FIGHTING GAME PEDIGREE

BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. Brings an All New Franchise to Life for PCs

SAN JOSE; Calif., (April 22, 2014) – BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. today announces an entirely new franchise, Rise of Incarnates. Forged by the creators of Tekken and SoulCalibur; unfettered 3D battles are about to be unleashed upon PC gamers. Rise of Incarnates is scheduled for release in the latter half of 2014 for PCs in the Americas.

Born from BANDAI NAMCO Games’ fighting game pedigree, the teams behind Tekken, SoulCalibur, and Gundam Extreme VS unite to bring Rise of Incarnates to life. Rise of Incarnates features ground-breaking 2 vs. 2 gameplay, a multitude of characters and roles, and battlegrounds throughout shattered yet accurately rendered real-world cityscapes. These diverse character types and roles, each with unique skills and powers, appeal to a variety of play-styles while accommodating expansive team dynamics and strategy. Players employ sharp reflexes, mental resolve, and strategic insight as they run, jump, and fly through 3D arenas, engaging in both close-quarters combat and long-range assaults.

Players take the role of “Incarnates”, humans that command untold mythical powers as they vie to avoid tragedy and reshape the course of their world. Due to their special abilities, Incarnates are both feared and loathed by the general population while being persecuted by the authorities that want to harness and use their power for their own nefarious needs. One day, a mysterious voice calls out to the Incarnates telling them the only way to avoid certain destruction is to destroy the “Sovereign of this era.” It is here that the battle for dominance amongst Incarnates begins and the fate of life on Earth hangs in the balance.

“As a new franchise, Rise of Incarnates represents the next big step in expanding BANDAI NAMCO’s footprint in the Free-to-Play gaming space,” said In Joon Hwang, Director of Digital Games at BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. “Having been built from the ground up, Rise of Incarnates contains the necessary attributes that create a rich and dynamic gaming environment that fans are sure to enjoy.”

Rise of Incarnates for PC is scheduled for release in the latter part of 2014. To learn more about Rise of Incarnates please visit: http://www.riseofincarnates.com/. To learn more about BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. go to:http://www.bandainamcogames.com/home.html.

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Well, at least it's not a MOBA.

This interests me a great deal. He's hoping to some cool characters! I really enjoyed Anarchy Reigns. Signed up for the Alpha.

Not a fan of how serious it seems to take itself (granted this is all we've seen and it wasn't really that much), but it looks fun.

Oh man, this looks like all those Gundam and Macross games I used to play on the PSP. Those games were so fucking good. Get some ad-hoc going and beatdown some friends or team up against unfair AI.

Free-to-play, but might have to buy new characters; apparently they haven't decided yet. Not a huge fan of buying characters. Go nuts on cosmetics, but leave gameplay stuff like playable characters open to everyone. But if the game's fun enough, dropping some money on it shouldn't be a problem.

Weird that it's coming to Steam and no consoles, but I ain't complaining. I fuckin loved those Gundam games so much. If you played Dissidia (also fantastic), it was basically like that but 2v2. With Gundams.

The Macross ones were even better cause you could transform into a jet or a half-jet/half-mech, basically swapping between the Gundam games and fuckin Ace Combat.

I don't think you have to worry about that:

Game's definitely got my attention.

@theht: It looks a lot like Anarchy Reigns. I'm in.

Looks cool, though PC only is really weird for this.