Namco Bandai has announced that Soul Calibur: Lost Swords, the free-to-play spin-off title exclusively on PlayStation 3, will be released in both North America and Europe this winter. The game will use the same fighting system in Soul Calibur V with new additions including weapon customizations as well as creating them with elements like wind and fire. Other new features include looting items and weapon elements through defeating enemies.

You can view the trailer below:

Interestingly, Soul Calibur: Lost Swords will have a bigger emphasis on single-player and mission-based modes. At the pre-Tokyo Game Show press event, series producer Masaki Hoshino says the decision to focus on the single-player modes was based on marketing research, which showed that many Soul Calibur fans were not into competitive play. He also says that players’ interests lied in “the characters and world setting of the series, not the game’s versus modes.”

As of now, there are no details about any paid features — let alone fighters — for Soul Calibur: Lost Swords. So far, Mitsurugi, Sophitia, and Seigfried are playable characters, and it is unknown if the rest of the roster needs to be purchased. There will be more to come as the release date draws near.

While the Japanese free-to-play schedule isn’t disclosed yet, Hoshino claims that it will begin very soon. We can look forward to Soul Calibur: Lost Swords this winter for PlayStation 3.

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