EA has announced that the Command & Conquer franchise is going free-to-play.

Revealing the news at Gamescom, EA confirmed that Command & Conquer: Generals 2 will be the first title to launch through the service. EA’s GM Jon Van Caneghem has said EA are “thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command and Conquer into a premier online experience”:

“We are thrilled about this opportunity to transform Command and Conquer into a premier online experience. For nearly two decades, this franchise has existed as something you buy; now we are creating a destination where our fans will be able to access the entire Command and Conquer universe, starting with Generals and continuing with Red Alert, Tiberium, and beyond. With Frostbite 2, we are able to keep an emphasis on the AAA quality our consumers expect while staying true to the RTS gameplay they know and love – all available online for free.”

The platform will launch in 2013.