Video game makers who once steered clear of emerging markets to avoid getting ripped off by copycats are returning with free online offers to make money from customers willing to pay for add-on features.

Electronic Arts, whose Command & Conquer is ranked by researcher NPD among the top five best-selling PC franchises of all time with more than 30 million copies sold since 1995, will make the game free online next year. Ubisoft Entertainment, known for Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy, introduced seven browser-based free-to-play titles at the gamescon event in Germany last month.

Free games with extras that cost often less than $US1, a model pioneered by Zynga, are poised to push sales in countries where disposable income is low and piracy has hurt revenue. Latin America, Africa and the Middle East made up 6 per cent of the industry's almost $67 billion in revenue last year, according to researcher IDATE DigiWorld.

"With the growing availability of mobile devices and PCs, the number of potential customers is rapidly expanding, especially in emerging markets," said Frank Gibeau, head of labels at Electronic Arts, the world's second-largest game developer by revenue. "The free-to-play model makes our games accessible to these audiences."

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Gamers in emerging markets are more likely to use a handset than a recent Microsoft Xbox or Nintendo Wii games console. More than half of US households own a current- generation console, according to research firm Nielsen. Ownership in emerging markets is around 30 per cent t of the level of that in Western countries, said Peter Warman, chief executive officer of researcher Newzoo.

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