Crytek's Warface turns West in 2012

Crytek will apparently be showing its Warface to more than just Asian markets. As part of Gamescom 2011 today, the German studio said that it will be the releasing the free-to-play online shooter, which will be available for PCs in Western markets in 2012.

After a trademark application for Warface turned up in the US Patent and Trademark Office in mid-2009, Crytek announced the game for release in Asia late last year. Players will be able to engage in near-future military missions in class-based competitive modes, as well as cooperative environments. The studio intends to deliver fresh content to the game on a regular basis.

Crytek, which is most widely known for tech-savvy shooter Crysis, is building Warface using its CryEngine 3 game software. According to Crytek president and CEO Cevat Yerli, the design of the game is to craft "the next-gen of free-to-play shooters that are on par with traditional AAA games in terms of quality."

The studio also said that it will be "starting with a strong partner in Asia," in order to hammer out the kinks in its free-to-play business model. Crytek's Kiev studio is leading development on the project, with Crytek Seoul and Crytek Frankfurt coproducing.