Asphalt 8: Airborne now free on iOS and Android

Gameloft has quietly made its latest racing game, Asphalt 8: Airborne, free. The game can be grabbed from Google Play for Android devices or the iTunes App Storefor iOS. The game was originally launched for Rs 50. Gameloft intends to make more money from the game through microtransactions, through which impatient gamers can pick up more advanced cars much earlier than the game would otherwise allow.

Those who earlier picked up the game for its original price will find that the game has been updated on both iOS and Android with rewards such as free boosters, Nitro packs and tuning kits. Along with this, the latest update also added a bunch of new cars to the game, including the Clio RS, as well as new booster kits and reverse tracks.

Asphalt 8: Airborne was launched on iOS and Android devices a couple of months ago. The game marks an improvement over Asphalt 7: Heat in every possible way, and has an increased emphasis on jumping and pulling off tricks, hence the Airborne name. It also features much-improved graphics that make it more competitive with EA’s Real Racing 3.

While it uses Apple’s Game Centre for its multiplayer, matchmaking and achievements, the Android version of the game uses Google’s Play Game Services, which was originally unveiled earlier this year at Google I/O. With it, players can not only play multiplayer matches, but can also compete in leaderboards and earn achievements.