Free Realms released on the PlayStation 3

Sony Online Entertainment announced today that Free Realms, their free-to-play family based MMO, has been released onto the PlayStation Network. It becomes the first free-to-play multiplayer experience to hit any of this generations consoles.

The game was originally launched on the PC in 2009 and then in 2010 on the Mac. It has become wildly popular with all age groups and now has over 17 million players registered to play the game.

Fun Now, No Waiting: Free Realms is easy to access! Get in the game quickly and easily from the PlayStation^®Store, create a character, and adventure in a fully immersive social game world. Click on the Game Guide to access the Activity Finder, Events Calendar, 3D and 2D minigames, quests, Match Making and more!

Be Whoever You Want: With 15 jobs to get into and more than 30,000 wearable combinations, players can find the perfect profession, or try them all! Jobs include: wizard, blacksmith, medic, archer, warrior, ninja, brawler, chef, miner, demolition derby driver, kart driver, adventurer, postman, soccer star and fisherman.

Fun for Everyone: With so much to do and seeit’s easy for players to find something fun to do! Start by playing minigames like cooking, mining, soccer, Demolition Derby, or Pirate’s Plunder. Players can decorate their player house with a party dance floor, rocket ship or talking tiki head, or create a maze with any number of items and invite friends over to race through it. The action doesn’t stop there; players can participate with the entire community at live event Boss Battles or in holiday quests, attend in-game concerts and learn boom box dance moves.

Vibrant, Deep Environment: There are eight distinct, unique and breathtaking environments for players to explore. Areas include the snowcapped mountain villages of Snowhill, the dark and mysterious swamps of Blackspore, and the sunny shores of Seaside.

Connect with Friends: Whether one’s meeting up with old friends or finding new ones, Free Realms players can connect, play, quest and adventure together. For group quests and multiplayer battles, players just log in to see what their friends have been up to, select them from your friends list, and join them in game.

Play Free or Upgrade: At its heart, Free Realms is free-to-play, with more than 800 quests and the ability to take each job through level four. Players who want to break through to the next level can become Members with access to an additional 400 quests and the ability to level all jobs up to 20. Memberships are offered in terms of one month, three months, six months and lifetime (valid for the life of the game). Members and free players can also purchase a variety of items and wearables through micro-transactions.

Family-Friendly: Recently recognized by Creative Child Magazine with the 2010 Creative Toy Award Seal of Excellence, Free Realms is a fun online experience to share with the entire family. Parental controls on the PC and MAC allow for the customization of safety options, include pre-canned and white-list chat, reporting, and filter for younger players. For kids who enjoy playing on the console, robust parental controls are innate to the system PlayStation3 system.

Free Realms allows both young and old players to take part in quests, activities, minigames and more. There have also been many live events that have taken place on the Free Realms servers over the past couple of years that will also cross over to the PlayStation 3 version.

The game also allows you to take on up to 15 job roles from wizards and medics to ninjas and kart drivers. Free Realms will once again be family friendly on the PlayStation 3, just like on the Mac and PC, thanks to the parental controls that are on offer.

The PlayStation 3 version of Free Realms stays free-to-play while offering paid upgrade options that can add additional quests and jobs. The free version also adds a new streamlined user interface designed for the PlayStation 3 gamepad and allows players to make use of voice chat, which will become very useful to groups and during big battles.

You can download Free Realms on the PlayStation Network for free, with options to purchase one month (US $4.99), three month (US $12.99), six month (US $ 24.50), one year (US $29.99), and lifetime membership (US $34.99).