Phantasy Star Online 2 will be free to download and play on both PC and PlayStation Vita, Sega announced during a game-specific media briefing today.
The game will make use of micro transactions, meaning some items will cost money.
Sega also announced it’s developing a third version of the game for iOS and Android. The smartphone version shares character data between the PC and PlayStation Vita versions, but does not offer cross platform play. It is a simplistic, single-player version of the game with easier controls and its own social features.
The PC version of the game is due out first this summer in Japan, followed by the smartphone version in the winter, and finally the PlayStation Vita version in 2013. A closed beta for the PC version will kick off in late April. A trial of the character creator (with benchmarks) will become available beginning April 5.
Thanks, Game Jouhou.