New TrackMania game to be free

Nadeo Studio has confirmed that TrackMania Nations Forever will be available as a free PC download later this month.

Its predecessor, simply titled TrackMania Nations, has been installed more than 30 million times since it was released two years ago. Nearly four million players have created an account to compete online.

TrackMania Nations Forever will feature a new version of the Stadium environment and 65 new tracks. Apparently it's designed to appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers and is perfect for big e-sports competitions.

"Even if you play Nations Forever quietly alone, you can still be ranked in the world, your country, your city or even in your list of friends that you can create by inviting friends to join like in Facebook or MySpace," explained studio boss Florent Castelnerac.

"It is up to each player to set his or her goals - become one of the best players in the world or just impress friends. These ladders are adapted to everyone and they add ten times more interest to solo or multiplayer modes."

According to Castelnerac, you'll be able to challenge friends via email or Messenger. He also confirmed there's a new track editor that offers more options but is simpler to use.

For the first time players of free-to-download TrackMania games will be able to compete online against those who bought the retail version of TrackMania United. There will be servers dedicated to the Stadium environment common to both games.

If you did buy United, you'll also get a free expansion titled United Forever. It'll feature brand new tracks, new design blocks for the seven game environments and a graphics update for the desert, snow and rally landscapes.

TrackMania Nations Forever will be available for download from April 16th.