NCsoft, the publisher behind Guild Wars and City of Heroes, has just revealed its first ever free online RPG, dubbed Dungeon Runners.

The game is available for free download as of today and, according to NCsoft, offers, “a play-for-free tier where players can access large chunks of the game’s content.”

NCsoft isn't generally known for giving its games away, so you might be wondering what the catch is. SPOnG commends you for your prudence. Thankfully, we won't be seeing elves cracking open a Diet Coke or orcs driving Beamers around all in-game advertisey-style. NCsoft just wants you to upgrade to a $4.99/month (£2.50) subscription that'll get you, “log-in queue priority and access to the most powerful items, weapons and armour.”

NCsoft of North America's CEO, (and Ultima gaming legend) Robert Garriott, delivered some corporo-speak about the decision. “Dungeon Runners is a bold leap into a new business model for NCsoft and it is taking us into a new direction in terms of the kind of games we can provide our customers,” he said. “There are plenty of other ‘free’ games available for online RPG fans, but none that packs as many features as Dungeon Runners has or comes with the NCsoft stamp of quality.”

Have a peek at the screens and artwork below to see what's on offer, and when you've done head over to SPOnG's dedicated game page to find out more.