Having only just released on the PlayStation Network, free-to-play MMO Free Realms, should be available to play right now for anyone in the US. Unfortunately, despite a year long delay, severe bugs mean that numerous users are unable to even play the game.

Once the 29 MB Free Basic client and 804 MB update is downloaded, players are met with a message saying that the game “could not launch”. Other error messages include “Unable to download game assets. Check your network connection and try again.”

John Smedley, President of Sony Online Entertainment, admitted on his twitter that they recognised the problem and were working on a fix:

We are fixing it as we speak. Configuration issue that cropped up on live – Smed

PSLS has contacted Smedley for an update on how long the fix will take.

*Update* – John Smedley has now tweeted that Free Realms is fixed:

Just a minor configuration issue on live. Last minute hiccup that is now fixed. Sorry

Are you able to play Free Realms? Let us know in the comments below.