This piece of news escaped us during E3, but you’ll be pleased to know that Ascend: New Gods, the fantasy action-RPG previewed at the Microsoft presser, will be free to play.

The third-person game sees you taking control of, well, a minion of one of three warring gods. This minion is incredibly powerful, and will be what you’ll be smashing through Ascend: New Gods’ landscape with. Asynchronous multiplayer is one of the key concepts of Ascend: New Gods. This means you’ll be able to see the ghosts of – and even interact with – other players who happen to be traversing in the same area as you. It’s an interesting concept, and brings to mind Demon Souls, but we’re waiting for the game to ship before releasing further judgement.

The game will also utilise Microsoft’s SmartGlass capabilities, tying your smartphone in with the game. An ‘oracle’ will invade your smartphone via SmartGlass, and will be able to do anything from showing you a minimap of your current dungeon to revealing the stats of a new boss or player you encounter. Players will also be able to battle other gamers via their mobile phones, earning both power and prestige that will be transferrable to your Xbox 360.

Ascend: New Gods is the first Xbox Live Arcade game to go F2P, and probably will not be the last. Like all F2P games nowadays, it’s definitely going to be monetised, through in-game item purchases, though Microsoft wouldn’t confirm them yet.

Ascend: New Gods ships in 2013.

(Source: Edge Online, XBLA Fans; Photo: thegamefanatics.com)