The first attempt for a free-to-play MMO title on the Xbox 360 will be released this week when Happy Wars (from developer Toylogic) will hit Xbox Live for download. The game will only be open to Xbox Live Gold members.

The game is a 30-player title that is billed as a strategy/action MMO that pits two teams of fifteen players against each other as the teams attempt to take castles and mount defenses to defend their home turf. The game will offer both an offline mode as well as single player campaign mode, in addition to the multiplayer mode.

Players will be able to upgrade both equipment and outfits for their characters by collecting Happy Stars within the game, which are acquired by battle or purchasing them in the in-game store with a micro-transaction.

As we have told you previously, Microsoft will be taking its first plunge into the world of free-to-play and micro-transaction titles with the release of Happy Wars. Several other free-to-play titles are coming as the company and its partners test the water for the response to free-to-play titles on the Xbox 360.

It is yet to be seen how gamers will react to the free-to-play offerings, but if positive, we suspect that it will be a growth area for the platform going forward and featured as a pillar of the core offerings of the Xbox Next.