You Don't Have to Pay Monthly for Every Online Game

Many of us know how expensive a video game hobby (or addiction) can be. But some of you may not realize that there are a lot of quality games out there, that do not require a penny on your part to play. It sounds wonderful, but is it really?

I am very into MMORPG. This stands for Massive Multiplayer Online Role Play Game. Essentially you get a character that starts at a low level or skill and you build it up slowly by turning in quests or killing monsters and gaining experience. The difference between just a regular video game and an MMO is that you are connecting with other players online all over the world.

MMOs have a sense of community because you see the same faces all the times, but you also see some new ones.

In order to get this kind of structure from a game, normally you have to pay a monthly subscription. There are a number of methods of payment: monthly credit card charge, game cards, and some still let you send in checks. Once in a while if you recruit a friend, you will get one free month of the game.

What about the free ones though? They sound like a myth.

Well they are very real.

How Can Some Online Games Be Free?

There are a couple of methods that online games have gone through to keep the games download itself and the monthly game play free.

Some do it through advertisements. Though having an advertisement playing during your game play can be really annoying.

From a large portion of games I have seen, they make their money through the hardcore people who have to have everything in the game. You see, you can level, play, acquire items, and wear top notch gear with what they give you. You can participate in events, make friends, and have no restrictions to access to parts of the game. They still update the game with patches, just like every other online game. But it's still free ... How?

Well a lot of these games have online stores. These stores let you put in a sum of money. Let's say you put in $10. That $10 turns into a type of currency made for the store. So let's say that $10 turns into 20,000 points.

5,000 of those points buys you a new hairstyle.

15,000 of those points buys you a staff that when you swing has hearts sparkles around it.

This is just an example of course. This hairstyle and staff that you bought cannot be bought in game, but only by paying for it with real money.

Surprisingly to me, these companies make enough money to keep their games free, just by this method.

I personally all ready pay for another subscription of an MMORPG, so I am not willing to fork over additional money for another game just to buy items. But even though I play without buying items, I still can level up and have just as much fun as every one else.
There are still hundreds of things you can get, just by playing for free. I think it's a really neat method and it seems as though more and more games are popping up allowing this.

What games can I play for free?

Well there are a lot more out there that I haven't even looked into, and there are a lot more into production. So let's explore a few of these free games.

Maple Story
This is a 2D side scrolling, action MMORPG. It has a lot of cutesy characters. It appeals more to a younger audience because of this. It is a lot of fun. There is a profanity filter on there, that even if you try to swear, you get a warning that pops up the blocks it.

Tales of Pirates
This is a 3D, action MMORPG. This game comes from the site www.igg.com which has other games you can download and play online for free. You can control your own pirate ship.

Anarchy Online
This is a science fiction MMORPG. This is another 3D game and the free game client can be downloaded right on the website just like the others listed.

Second Life
This one users can create their own items, and even sell them. You can own your own house. This game is just what the title is, Second Life. There is no level up system, as this is not an RPG. This is just a virtual world people can come on and connect with each other in many ways.

Guild Wars
This one is an online game that you can play for free, but you have to buy the software first. This one is heavily based on PvP.

Why Play For Free?

Well, one can argue that you "get what you pay for" and if you're not paying anything at all, you aren't getting quality. I think it really depends on the game. If you research enough, there is bound to be a free online game out there for you. They're making their money through advertisements and other users that are getting exclusive items.

There are bound to be games out there for you.

Playing these online games can have some drawbacks as far as depth and comparison to the ones you'd be paying for, but you don't always have to pay top dollar to have fun.