Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is following the example of several other prominent fighting game series by offering a free version of the game that has a limited selection of characters and modes.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Free Edition will allow the player to engage in both online and offline battles, but they won't be able to play the story mode of the game. The free version of the game will have four playable characters from the roster which will switch every week. It will be possible for players to purchase a character's Starter Pack in order to keep them unlocked and the same is true of the DLC characters, who will never be included in the rotation of free characters.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Free Edition will also be coming to Steam, which means that the game will no longer be a PlayStation 4 exclusive. There are three versions of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT coming to Steam - the free version, the standard version (which has the story mode and all of the regular characters), and the deluxe edition (which has all of the DLC characters and several additional costumes & weapons for each one.)
It also should be mentioned that the PlayStation 4 version of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Free Edition will require an active PS Plus subscription in order to play the game online. If you purchase the full version of the game, then you can carry your content over from the free edition.
One of the biggest problems with Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is the long wait that you have to endure while the game performs its matchmaking in the online modes. The lack of an active player base has made this problem even worse, which may be fixed by an influx of players due to the free version of the game.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT has numerous issues and some poor review scores which prevented it from finding an audience. The success of other free-to-play games (like Apex Legends and Fortnite) may have prompted Square Enix to create a limited version of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT in order to attract a wider audience for the game.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Free Edition will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Steam on March 12, 2019.