it hasn’t showed up on the origin Free Games page yet for me (Origin for macOS - Electronic Arts).
Probably should be in the Games forum.
Dammit, I keep forgetting about the separate games forum some reason whenever I start a game thread. I’ll report it to be moved.
It’s an aside, but this resonates strongly with a throwaway bit from one of Arthur C. Clarke’s later novels. In general, the world of MMO and FTP games is a surprising match, but this in particular seems to be what the old soothsayer saw in his fever dream…
I’m pretty sure it’s in Imperial Earth, written in 1975 and set in 2276. The protagonist is flipping around media channels and comes across “…one of the gaming channels, now fallen on hard times and offering free entry for the day.” In 1975, when computer games meant two people hunched over a blurry TV set making squares move around. One of ACC’s many frighteningly accurate toss-offs…
Well, I’m seeing it on the page now, but when I click “Get It Now” I get “Hang on a second. There was an issue that kept us from completing your request. No need to panic, just give it another try later”. No doubt some kind of congestion.