Consoles have been late to board the free-to-play train. However, another game has joined the ranks of Happy Wars for Xbox 360 and Dust 514 for PS3: Spartacus Legends.

Ubisoft announced today that the fighting game based on the Starz TV series will be free-to-play for both PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Gold users. You'll be able to buy higher-tier equipment with real money, but the game claims to retain its balance by tying gear to a fame system. You'll need to be more famous to access better equipment, which presumably means you couldn't just buy all the best gear and win.

As previously reported, you'll be able to play as Spartacus, Crixus, or your own user-created warrior to play offline and online matches. The game is due in 2013, likely to tie in with the new season of the accompanying TV series.