Joy Ride reworked as Natal launch title?

No longer free-to-play.

CVG reports that Microsoft's free-to-play XBLA racer, Joy Ride, has been reworked as a Natal launch title and will no longer be free.

The game was first revealed at E3 last summer, but very little has been seen of the title since - its planned late 2009 launch is long gone.

A CVG source said: "The hope for us is that it will be a boxed release - we're still in the dark on that one - but it's definitely for Natal and will definitely be here for launch."

"We've been told it will no longer be free to play, but that it's been completely reworked into a bigger, richer game than before.

"They're putting the final touches to it now. The biggest thing for us is that it just works with Natal's racing controls. We're reliably informed it's very intuitive."

If true you can expect official word on Sunday at Microsoft's Natal showcase.