Free-to-play jetpack FPS Midair rides launch trailer out of Early Access

Midair is a 16v16 FPS where everyone has a jetpack to blast and a base to defend, and it fully embraces the hill-hopping 'skiing' that made games like Tribes: Ascend so fun. It's been in Early Access since August 2017, but as developer Archetype announced, today it's officially launching on Steam as a free-to-play game.

As we learned when we spoke to Archetype CEO Chris Matthews at PAX West 2017, Midair seeks to improve on Tribes' monetization model, which left some players feeling cold. "We want players to be able to jump in and have fun without needing to pay money to get the best weapons or abilities," its Steam page reads. "For free-to-play users, we will have a progression system that does require the user to move their way up a progression ladder and unlock items related to gameplay."

Archetype also offers a $30 'Progression Pass' which unlocks "everything gameplay." Basically, if you don't want to unlock stuff manually—and given Midair's extensive loadout customization there's a lot to unlock—you can buy the pass and get access to all current and future upgrades. "Think of it as buying the game," its Steam page reads, adding that you can also buy and disable the pass if you just want to support the game.

You can learn more about Midair's jetpacks, vehicles and base building in our video interview with Matthews. Suffice it to say, it's gonna be fast.

Austin freelanced for PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and has been a full-time writer at PC Gamer's sister publication GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a staff writer is just a cover-up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news, the occasional feature, and as much Genshin Impact as he can get away with.