‘Free-to-play’ is a term that refers to games that do not have box or download fees associated with them and do not incur a mandatory subscription. Some have optional subscriptions and are more properly referred to as hybrid F2P. Most have cash shops and microtransactions.
free to play
Vague Patch Notes: MMORPGs are more popular than you think
Last week, I ended the Vague Patch Notes column with something of a tease suggesting that maybe, just maybe, MMORPGs are not an unpopular...
Lord of the Rings Online dev defends the ‘meandering’ nature of the Shire
Over the years as a Lord of the Rings Online fan and columnist, I've noticed that whenever the discussion of the game's zones comes...
Aion trots out the Brawler class in Europe and Lumines class in Korea
Aion Classic dropped a beefy update this week in Europe with Patch 3.0: The Path of the Brawler. This release comes with the addition...
PSA: Star Trek Online gives away free T6 battlecruiser and outfits for a limited time
It's absolutely not every day that Star Trek Online hands out its highest tier starships for free, but that's exactly what's happening in the...
Perfect Ten: Lessons from unsuccessful MMORPGs that I wish designers would learn
I have been writing about this genre for far too long now and seen far too many games with genuinely good elements completely fail...
Old School RuneScape heralds Leagues V release with cinematic trailer and time-limited subscription discount
Today marks the official launch of Leagues V: Raging Echoes in Old School RuneScape, and Jagex is rolling out the red carpet with a...
MechWarrior Online releases a new paid mech, MechWarrior 5 Clans launches the Trials of War DLC
Last week saw another quirk-filled patch for MechWarrior Online go live, but that's not because it was full of bugs; it's because it was...
League of Legends outlines updates to seasons coming in 2025 and unveils a swiftplay feature
If you're a seasons kind of player in League of Legends, then the next year is going to be bringing a whole lot of...
Massively OP Podcast Episode 495: EverQuesting for a sequel
Justin and Bree discuss EverQuest 3, EverQuest II's latest expansion, FFXIV Mobile, New World's roadmap, Path of Exile 2, and Stars Reach's housing, with adventures in WoW Classic and Guild Wars 2.
Wurm Online is patching in buildable ceilings this week and teasing the goblin camp revamp
Wurm Online doesn't get enough attention in the MMORPG industry, in our opinion anyway, so we're going to rectify that today as the developers...
TERA Console patches in the ‘ultimate challenge’ of the 10-player Kelsaik’s Raid
TERA Console's continued existence makes for both heartening and unsettling feelings for those who carried a torch for the PC version, but at least...
Choose My Adventure: Red Dead Online is a multiplayer buried treasure
There's nothing quite as bad in gaming as wasted potential. There are no shortage of MMOs, MMORPGs, and multiplayer games that reached for the...
The Stream Team: Checking out Caliban and clearing nodes in Warframe
There's one thing Massively OP's MJ will never say no to: a new Warframe! And last month, folks were awarded Caliban just for logging...
LOTRO continues extensive Moria rework, readies progression servers for next steps
Lord of the Rings Online's first expansion is being treated to a sweeping set of improvements on the eve of certain progression servers entering...
Niantic admits to using Pokemon Go player data to train an AI-powered 3-D map tool
If all you thought you were doing when playing Pokemon Go was enjoying a fun AR mobile title, think again. You were also helping...
The Daily Grind: Should MMORPGs get back to offering roleplaying-enforced servers?
If you have been playing MMORPGs a long time, you probably remember that in the long long ago, it was super common for games...
The MOP Up: Hawkeye joins the Marvel Rivals roster
Marvel Rivals is getting a good dose of the Hawkeye on December 6th along with plenty of other additions to the PvP shooter. The...
The Stream Team: Factions, reputations, and the Friday before Black Friday in AdventureQuest 3D
'Twas the week before Black Friday, when all throughout Lore
Massively OP's MJ was raking in deals galore;
Who cares if it's early, she must buy...
Old School RuneScape will sunset its Java client next year and revive Leagues V next week
If you can remember all the way back to 2020, then good for you. Would you care to tell me what sort of diet...
Four Winds: The early leveling experience in Amazon’s Throne & Liberty
In the last edition of Four Winds, I covered the opening hours of my journey through Throne and Liberty. Overall, the tutorial island did...
