Loadouts may be acquired either through an upfront payment, or through playing the game and earning experience points, which can be used to purchase classes, weapons, perks, and upgrades.

Upgrades to armor, weapons and perks are unlocked based on how much players use them in-game, but can also be purchased by experience points.

[3] Players earn in-match credits during matches for killing enemies, repairing structures or capturing objectives.

Ports to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were briefly considered but never entered development due to the game's free-to-play business model.

[7] The game entered open beta on February 22, 2012[8] (with some modes disabled such as Rabbit) and was officially released on April 12, 2012.

[9] In February 2013, Hi-Rez released a Game of the Year Edition, which unlocked all classes, weapons, equipment, and perks in a single package.

[16] Sean McBride, creative director of Tribes: Ascend, likened the game's history to be “death by a thousand cuts”.