New freemium titles for Sony PlayStation Home

Network, Venture Beat writes.

The new games, which use high-end graphics, reflect Sony's goal of keeping its hardcore gamers entertained with free-to-play titles in between major launches of PlayStation 3 console games.

Digital Spy says Cutthroats: Battle for Black Powder Cove lets players turn their Home avatars into pirates and man the cannons on a pirate ship to battle other players.

No Man's Land will release sometime in the spring, bringing a violent and gritty post-apocalyptic shooter to PlayStation Home.

And Mercia will release in the summer, offering a multiplayer role-playing game through PlayStation Home. The action RPG will let players traverse a high fantasy world alone or with friends as they battle supernatural creatures and collect loot to earn special rewards.

The videogame industry has been shaken up in recent years by the exploding popularity of online games that are free to play, with creators making money through ads or sales of virtual items such as clothing, armour or weapons, Botswana Gazette states.

"We truly think they are going to revolutionise freemium games on consoles," says PlayStation Home senior business manager Chris Mahoney.