You can build a level on the tablet, using more intuitive touch-and-swipe controls, then open it up and play it on your game console. What Disney announced this week is that the same is true for the iPad version. It's a massive undertaking for Disney, but if it hits big it stands to rake in tons of cash from sales of extra figures and accessories. If you want more characters to play with, you've got to buy the figures at $13 each. You can play traditional action games, or a Minecraft-style creative sandbox game called Toy Box. The game cannot be played without interactive figurines that are sold separately the $75 Starter Packs available at launch will contain Sulley from Monsters, Inc., Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean and Mr. On August 18, Disney will release Infinity on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, with a separate spin-off game on Nintendo 3DS.

Putting a barrier to entry of zero dollars on this massive game release might be a risk, but it also has the potential to massively expand the audience for this Skylanders-style toy-and-game combo, which rolls all of Disney's hottest properties into one massive videogame. With just days to go before it launches Disney Infinity, Disney has announced an iPad version of the creative game's Toy Box mode that will be free to play.

Toybox games free play now