After a few months of dropping hints our secret is ready to be made public. We are extremely fortunate to have some of the most devoted and amazing fans in gaming and we wanted to introduce those fans, and the world of UNCHARTED 3 multiplayer, to as many people as possible. We also wanted everyone who plays our multiplayer game to engage with it in a way that best suits their own unique play styles. So, it’s time to go big and grow our community even more. With that, we’re thrilled to announce that UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Multiplayer is going Free-to-Play!

To date, more than 3.5 million people have played in over 37 million matches of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Multiplayer. All Free-to-Play players will become a part of this same player pool of over a half a million passionate players actively playing our game every month. So if you haven’t tried yet, you have no excuse to not be playing one of the most exciting multiplayer experiences on the PS3 — it’s free! Join the adventure starting today.

Once you download the Free-to-Play game from the PS Store you can hop online and play for as long as you want, as much as you want, up to Level 15. Upon reaching Level 15, you’re welcome to continue to play as long as you want without paying a penny more. We’ll continue to track your earned experience points as you play, although you won’t be able to unlock or access them. However should you choose to unlock the level cap, we’ll retroactively apply those achievements to your profile and we’ll continue to allow you to build up your profile right from where the Level 15 cap stops you. Although if you choose not unlock the level cap or purchase anything you’ll be missing out on a slew of cool in-game items and downloadable content we have made for the game to date. Here’s a rundown of what you can unlock:

• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Co-op Adventure Add On – Unlocks Co-Op Adventure mode including the Fort Adventure DLC
• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Co-op Arena Add On – Unlocks to gain access to the Co-Op Arena Playlist including the Co-Op Shade Survival Mode DLC for UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Free to Play
• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Competitive MP (No Level Limit) – Removes the level cap for UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Free to Play
• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Competitive MP (Level 25 Limit) – Removes the Level 15 cap and allows you to play UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Free to Play up to Level 25
• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Split Screen Add On – Unlocks Co-Op Adventure mode including the Fort Adventure DLC
• UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer DLC Map Packs – Unlocks all three DLC map packs released for UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception. Includes Flashback Map Pack 1, Flashback Map Pack 2, and Drake’s Deception Map Pack
• UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Single Player Experience – Uncover the Truth. Unlock the Single Player campaign

If you really enjoy UNCHARTED 3: Multiplayer Free to Play and are looking for the full UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception experience, the best deal is to pick up the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Game of the Year Edition from the in-game store, which also launches today for $39.99. This digital version of the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Game of the Year Edition includes all 12 DLC maps, all Co-Op multiplayer modes, and over 40 character skins. Purchase the digital version of the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Game of the Year and essentially you’re getting the single-player game for free!

If you already own UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception and you are a long time multiplayer participant, we gave you some very special gifts as a way of saying thank you. Next time you log in online you’ll see a custom Naughty Dog Paw on your rank icon and you’ll receive the Naughty Dog Paw shirt for your custom characters.

Also, to celebrate the launch of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Multiplayer Free-to-Play we’re getting more colorful. Every character item and every character skin in multiplayer will now have more color options. These new color options are completely free.

During the coming months, more than 40 additional DLC items will be made available. Every DLC drop will have a theme and we’ll be unveiling that content here on PlayStation.Blog, over on the Naughty Dog Blog, and on our Free-to-Play webpage.

Patch 1.17 was also released recently. It includes some big changes you can read about over on the Naughty Dog Blog. For instance, we’ve added another tier to our Tournament. It’s the Platinum level and we have some very cool permanent Platinum level prizes for people who achieve this prestigious level.

We can’t wait to welcome all the new players into our community. Happy Fortune hunting! See you online!