You can now play fighting card game BattleCON for free on PC

BattleCON has arrived on PC with a brand new digital edition of the card-battling fighter.

Based on the 2012 card game designed by Millennium Blades creator D. Brad Talton, BattleCON: Online looks to be a relatively faithful adaptation of the game’s card-driven head-to-head battles, in which players use cards to move back and forth along a 2D plane and try to land blows on their opponent, much like classic arcade fighters such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.

After a successful Kickstarter in 2015 followed by several years in development, BattleCON: Online has launched into Early Access on PC platform Steam, where it’s now free-to-play for everyone.

The work-in-progress app includes the basic gameplay, support for matches against friends and training modes, with publisher-developer Level 99 – the studio that also put out the physical game – promising AI opponents, adventure modes, events, daily quests and other features to be introduced over time before the game completes development sometime in the middle of next year.

BattleCON: Online’s roster consists of 19 available fighters, including some characters new and exclusive to the digital edition alongside their tabletop counterparts. The final game will include a full line-up of 30 competitors, with more characters being added over time after release.

Without paying a penny, fighters are available on a rotation system, but can be purchased using in-game or real-world currency for unlimited use. Season passes will also be offered, as well as characters unlocked through special events. Any fighters bought during BattleCON: Online’s Early Access development will stay unlocked when the finished game goes live.

A mobile version of BattleCON is also planned, with eventual support for cross-platform matches between PC and phones.