Planetside 2 will be free to play, according to RockPaperShotgun , who have spotted an interview on Chinese website 17173 with John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment. Obviously the text is in Chinese so we've had to rely on a translation by MMOsite , who say that the exact free to play model has not been settled on, with Smedley mentioning several possibilities during the interview.

The massive battlefields of Planetside 2 can handle up to 2,000 players at once, says Smedley, with players fighting for control of territory and resources. Sony is also considering experimenting with world events in the future, such as having the three factions work together to fight off an alien invasion.

The interview also revealed Sony's plans for the beta, with a 'Large scale US test' being considered for the end of 2011 or beginning of 2012. Those dates are not final, but are what the team is currently aiming for.