The ten best free-to-play MMOs

Somewhere near the bottom of gaming’s totem pole are free-to-play MMORPGs – games that traditionally seem to exist for that niche group of players who not only want MMORPGs but also can’t be bothered to pay for World of Warcraft. But within this genre there exists a few games that are actually worth a go. In no particular order, here’s our ten favourites:

Dungeons and Dragons Online

Dungeons and Dragons Online has repeatedly won awards for the best free-to-play MMO. The game was the work of Turbine, who previously had worked on Asheron’s Call 1 and 2. It’s been free-to-play since 2009, but includes a micro-transaction system that lets players buy additional perks. Its success helped give free-to-play games a wider appeal, and proved that this business model can be incredibly lucrative in the West.

Guild Wars

Guild Wars was created by senior members of Blizzard who originally had a hand early on in the development of World of Warcraft. It’s also easily one of the best MMORPGs without a subscription fee. While you have to pay for the game itself, it’s a single-time fee that flies in the face of all subscription-based MMOs.

Lord of the Rings: Online

A free-to-play option was added to Lord of the Rings: Online in 2010 for North America and Europe. Originally the game had been released with a subscription model that let players buy game time in packages of one or multiple months. However after the success of Dungeons and Dragons Online, Turbine initiated the F2P option which included items and features that could be bought through micro-transactions. So far it’s tripled the game’s revenue and it’s one of the most well known MMOs on the market.

Second Life

It’s a free online virtual world, if you want to be a pedant. Second Life lets users build everything from houses, to clothing, to enormous virtual cocks. In-game items are bought and sold, and the game itself features such a successful economy that a number of its players have made real life fortunes by selling their virtual products and real estate.

Runes of Magic

Famous for being a blatant clone of World of Warcraft, Runes of Magic is surprisingly adept at mimicking the all-conquering Blizzard title, adopting features of the most popular MMOs and repackages them for free. The game currently boasts over 4 million registered users (although how many of those are actually active is another story) and regularly adds in new content like marriage systems and housing.

Everquest II: Extended

EverQuest was the original top dog on the MMO market back in the day – years before World of Warcraft was ever bringing in millions of users, EverQuest was king. Sony Online Entertainment announced a free-to-play version of that game’s sequel, EverQuest II, back in 2010. This version allows you to play EverQuest II and its expansions up to EverQuest II: The Shadow Odyssey for free.

Vindictus

A hack and slash MMORPG developed in Korea, Vindictus managed to break into the North American market with relative success. In terms of free-to-play titles, Vindictus puts an awful amount of emphasis on its visual design – something often lacking in its competition. Additionally it has some interesting twitch-style gameplay that introduces blocking and dodging to its combat.

Free Realms

It has a name that sounds like it was churned out of a mid-90s PERL name generator, but Free Realms is oddly successful both critically and in terms of its subscription base. The game is developed by Sony Online Entertainment, and takes a family-friendly stance on MMO development. Combat is optional, whereas exploration, pet-raising, and mini-games take on a bigger role.

Puzzle Pirates

The quaintest game you’ll never play, but it’s surprisingly good and developed by one of the most likeable people in the industry: Daniel James. Puzzle Pirates is an MMO based entirely around puzzles and pirates, and the ability to buy different hats for a couple of quid. A basic concept, but a good example of an independent developer successfully creating an MMO from the ground up.

Runescape

Runescape: the game you’ve avoided for years. Runescape was released as a browser-based title back in 2001, and still basically looks like it’s from an era that time forgot. Regardless, it’s currently sitting on a subscriber-base of about 10 million active accounts – World of Warcraft currently has just less than 12 million. Even now Runescape is one of the most accessible free-to-play games you’ll ever find, and one of the few MMO titles you’ll get running on a browser.