What is Free to Play Games?
Free to play games is a where developers make an IP free for players who don’t want to pay for $10-$70-dollar game. But, included microtransaction to make players buy skins, characters and more with in-game currency or real money. Which is result of free and premium (paid) tiers in f2p titles but its optional. Myself, I played my fair share of f2p games such as Valorant, Fortnite, Overwatch 2 and many more. These games garnered a fanbase and are very popular among streamers along with content creators. You see your favorite streamers play it with viewers or others. Sometimes they play it alone with randoms, it does keep you from interacting with the chat. After their stream, they post video highlights on their socials to get a following. If you are plan on streaming free to play games on Twitch or YouTube, be mindful of your discoverability on those platforms.
There is some f2p games that doesn’t have a lot of attraction and small player base. For example, games like Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodhunt, Naraka Bladepoint and Ninjala with smaller viewer base. I played all three and got some new viewers in my stream (I average 0-2 viewers though). If you make content on these free 2 play games, I have some advice for small content creators. Use Vidiq or Tubebuddy to see there no high competition on that keyword but low. I understand gaming niche is very tough and competitive indeed. Don’t get upset went a larger creator get more views than you. Meaning don’t compare yourself to other content creator success because everybody journey is different. Anyways, back to f2p games there is a lot of them. The same format is always present in every f2p game like battle passes but sometimes non one has that as well.
Pay 2 Win
Which makes no sense whatsoever because you paid for a premium pass if you already brought the game. There is one game that pay to win like Gundam Evolution, which was shut down. I know Star Wars Battlefront II (2016) was under fire for using microtransaction in their game, but later EA received feedback and quickly hauled it. Even Battlefront II is not a f2p game that’s a whole new low. Another game was Disney Speedstorm because of their Golden Pass controversy, but Gameloft backtracked and made it optional to purchase. Game developers need money to stay afloat because nothing is free went it comes to making games. Some might feel at a disadvantage went it comes to purchasing content than a player who don’t have to fund for.
Developers notices this because right now, inflation is on a all time high and 2025 is going to be more difficult. There is collaboration from different companies in this free 2 play games and the money it will cost. For example, Honkai Star Rail has a Fate Stay Night collaboration because it cost money and steer sales with Type Moon. Along with keeping the player base alive and not have worry about getting servers going down. Fortnite has a lot of updates or chapters with new content and more. Epic games know how to keep fans busy throughout the years. F2P games does save you a lot of money than buying a regular price game. There are plenty of f2p video game genres such as fighting, mmorpgs, shooters and many more. How long will they last?
Tired of Free to Play Games
Well, if their constant updates and what players want, they will stick out and continue to play. I forgot about in-ads which they be found in mobile f2p games. They need ad revenue to keep the game going but not. They will be forced to shut it down like Omega Striker and move to another projects. Do people get tired of them? Yes, because free to play games are very limited and requires players to play everyday (which I don’t have time for). Players want to get that double xp for more content and events. Whether you play solo, duo or trios in any game, you deserve to have fun with them. F2P has been around since 90s, another term was called “freeware”. Which grants users full control of the game but pay for in-game assets.
There is a disclaimer keeping children from purchasing in-game items without parent consent. Also, there is pay to earn with cryptocurrencies and blockchain which is very earn in most games. Bait-n-Switch is what Bubble Witch Saga and Candy Crush which allows players to pay to continue the game. Breaking news: XDefiant is getting shut down in June 2025, if you want to read about it. Other than that, I enjoy free to play games from time to time. Will it break the mold of standing out from the rest? How does affect traditional model of gaming like downloadable content? The choice is up to the developer, thank you for reading this article. What fp2 games you enjoy and thoughts on them?
