Real Racing 3 available tonight for iPad and iPhone

At today's launch event in Melbourne, Firemonkeys gave fans in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada a pleasant surprise by announcing that Real Racing 3 would be available for the iPad and iPhone at midnight.

Real Racing 3 is as eagerly awaited as mobile games get, so when Firemonkeys today shifted the iOS launch of the game forward from 28 February to tonight, the sound of cheering fans could be heard across the internet. The game will launch in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada overnight, with other territories and Android all going live on 28 February.

The game will be available to download at 12.01am AEDST on 14 February through the iTunes App Store, two weeks ahead of other regions. It's a Valentine's Day present sure to please fans of the series, if not the significant others of the race fans involved.

Featured prominently in live demos at Apple launch keynote events during 2012, Real Racing 3 has controversially adopted a free-to-play model for its release, with the game featuring dollar and gold currency systems that must be hard won through racing, or purchased with real dollars to progress.

Update: We've also now taken a look at the Real Racing 3 freemium currency system.