Tribes: Ascend Only Coming to PC in 2011

When Hi-Rez Studios first announced Tribes: Ascend back in March, the developer intended to bring the franchise reboot to the PC and XBLA. By the time the first gameplay footage surfaced in June, their official stance had been altered to note that the XBLA version would be hitting a bit later due to a disagreement with Microsoft over the patching process. Now it seems the 360 version won’t be getting a release in 2011, if at all.

Speaking with GameSpot, a representative from Hi-Rez confirmed that the PC release is now the primary focus, though the studio wasn’t ruling out eventual releases on other platforms. “An eventual XBLA version–and even PSN version–is not out of the question but neither will be this year,” the rep stated.

Tribes: Ascend marks a reboot of the much loved sci-fi shooter franchise, which made its debut on the PC back in 1998. The game will feature a free to play business model, which lets players purchase new loadouts for their character using either real-world or in-game currency.

Hi-Rez Studios had also been developing Tribes Universe, an MMO centered around persistent FPS combat, though development was put on hold when the company’s focus shifted towards Ascend.