List of free massively multiplayer online games
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This is a selected list of massively multiplayer online games which are free to play in some form without ever requiring a subscription or other payment. These are commonly MMORPGs or MMOFPSs, but could be of any genre.
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[edit] Free play
These MMOGs run on a non-profit basis, requiring no payment from the players.
| Developer(s) | Release date | Required OS | Genre | Payment | Synopsis | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossfire | n/a | 1992 | Multi-platform, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and others. | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free to play, open source project | A cross between NetHack and Gauntlet. | 2D |
| Gekkeiju Online | Created by Suvi Aalto Produced by Coolhouse | 2003 | Windows | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free to play | Players control an anime like character in a medieval fantasy world. Has many unique features not found in other MMORPGs like a weather system that heavily affects gameplay. | 3D |
| The Legend of Zelda: Hyrulian Adventures | Created by Liscancer | 2008 | Windows | Medieval Fantasy MORPG | Free to play | The Legend of zelda: Hyrulian adventures is a fangame based in Zelda`s Universe. | 2D |
| IVAO | Erwin Lion and Morten Hansen | December 16, 1998 | n/a | Flight simulation | Free to play | Uses existing flight simulation software with custom plug-ins, players may interact with the network as either pilots or air traffic controllers. | |
| PlaneShift | Atomic Blue | February 10, 2002 | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free play, open source project | The player starts out as a peasant in search for fame and becomes a hero. | 3D |
| SubSpace | Virgin Interactive/Fan-Community | November 30, 1997 | Windows | Action | Free to play | Players fly, fight, and play a variety of games with spaceships. | 2D |
| Underlight: Shades of Truth | Lyra Studios | October 2007 (Org.1998) | Windows | RPG | Free to play | Play as human in a fantastical dream world of the mind. Enforced "In-Character" environment. | |
| Urban Dead | Kevan Davis | July 2005 | Browser-based | Survival horror | Free to play | Play as a human or a zombie trying to survive in the undead-infested city of Malton. | Web |
| VATSIM | n/a | July 2001 (replacing SATCO) | n/a | Flight simulation | Free to play | Uses existing flight simulation software with custom plug-ins, players may interact with the network as either pilots or air traffic controllers. |
[edit] Free play with advertising
These MMOGs are free to play. They are funded through advertising, either in-game or through pop-ups.
| Developer(s) | Release date | Required OS | Genre | Payment | Synopsis | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anarchy Online | Funcom | June 2001 | Windows | MMORPG, Science-fiction | Normally subscription based, currently in free-play until Jan 2009 (where it may be extended again) but with advertisements | Two factions fight for control of the distant desert planet Rubi-Ka. | 3D |
| Cal Ripken's Real Baseball | Netamin | 2004 | Windows | MMOSG, Sports, Baseball | Free, advertisements as billboards in stadiums. | Home and away teams try to pitch and outhit each other to win. | 3D |
| Jennifer Government: NationStates | Max Barry | 2002 | Browser-based | Government simulation game | Advertising in the form of ad-bars the novel Jennifer Government. | Players build nations and run them according to their political ideals. | Web |
| Utopia | Mehul Patel | 1999 | Browser-based | Medieval fantasy strategy | Free play with advertisements on top and right side of browser. | Web |
[edit] Free play with micro-transactions
These MMOGs are free to play, but players may optionally purchase in-game items or currency.
| Developer(s) | Release date | Required OS | Genre | Payment | Synopsis | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9Dragons | Indy21 | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG Chinese mythology | Free-play, with Acclaim Coins purchases and in-game advertisement | Player characters learn martial arts to survive in the harsh lands of China. | |
| Angels Online | n/a | 2006 | Multi-platform, Windows and Playstation 3. | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free to play, optional item shop purchases | Players control an anime like character in a medieval fantasy world. | 2D |
| ArchLord | NHN Corporation | October 3, 2006 | Windows | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free play, players may purchase in-game currency[1] | A human named Zian and his friend, a half-orc named Ugdrasil, find themselves in the midst of a thousand year old conflict for control of five mysterious relics known as Archons. | |
| Ashen Empires | Iron Will Games | March 10, 2003 | Windows | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free play, but most parts of the game world have certain skills locked and experience points reduced unless a prepaid subscription is purchased. Expansion packs, items, and bonuses can also be purchased. | Players explore a two-dimensional world which boasts an impressive trade-skill system and includes various quests. | 2D |
| Audition Online | T3 Entertainment | 2005 | Windows | Casual MMORPG | Free to play, using a cash shop system that allows users to use real money to purchase in-game clothes, accessories, etc. to dress up their avatars. | Players compete against others in a style like that of Stepmania and Dance Dance Revolution | 3D |
| Cabal Online | ESTSoft | 2006 | Windows | Magic, Sci-fi MMORPG | Free to play with cash shop. | An MMORPG with a unique combo battle system and flashy skills. | 3D |
| Conquer Online | TQ Digital | 2003 | Windows | MMORPG, Chinese mythology | Free-play, with item purchases | The Conquer Online landscape is a 2D rendition of mythical China within a 2.5D environment, with combat-focused game play, incorporating common elements of many MMORPGs such as wealth, fame and character development. | 3D |
| Cyber Nations | Kevin Beaks | January 6, 2006 | Browser-Based | Online Geopolitical Simulator | Free to play, with optional advertisements for bonus, and ability to donate for ingame cash and items. | Create a nation and improve it with infrastructure and technology. Cyber Nations centers on politics with the ability to join alliances with hundreds of nations and to coordinate massive attacks on other nations. | Web |
| DECO Online | Rocksoft | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG | Free-play, with item purchases | DECO Online is a fully 3D fantasy MMORPG that focuses on unique combo based combat. It has many common elements that can be seen in other MMORPGs such as fame, item enhancement and job changes. | 3D |
| Dream of Mirror Online | Aeria Games | November 12, 2007 | Windows XP/Vista | MMORPG | Free to play with cash shop | Styled after ancient Chinese mythology. Second online game of the Sword of Xuan Yuan series. | 3D |
| Drift City | NPLUTO | 2007 | Windows | Racing | Free to play with an item shop. | Players progress through a linear mission system with multiplayer races. | 3D |
| Entropia Universe | MindArk | January 30, 2003 | Windows only | MMORPG/MMOFPS, Science-fiction | Virtual economy with in-game to real-life currency exchange | Massive virtual universe with a virtual economy. | 3D |
| Eternal Lands | Open Source license[2] | February 2003 | Windows, Mac & GNU/Linux | MMORPG | Free to play, with in-game items you can purchase from the home page. | A medieval fantasy genre MMOG with combat and trading. | 3D |
| Eudemons Online | TQ Digital Entertainment | 2006 | Windows | MMORPG, Medieval fantasy | Free play with rare item purchases | Set in the fictional world of YartLand, based on medieval China | |
| Fiesta Online | Netmarble | June 2007 | Windows | MMORPG, Fantasy | Free play with non-permanent item purchases | Four human classes (Fighter, Cleric, Archer, Mage), 3D fantasy environment, pvp and lots of quests. | 3D |
| Fly For Fun | Aeonsoft | August 2004 | Windows | MMORPG, Aerial combat | Free play with item purchases (except for some countries) | Centres on aerial combat; either fighting monsters, fulfilling quests or player versus player combat. | 3D |
| Forumwarz | Crotch Zombie Productions | February 2008 | Browser based | Multiplayer browser game, Strategy | Free play with item purchases | RPG parodying internet culture | Web |
| Gaia Online | - | February 2003 | Forum-based | Fantasy | Users may purchase special, month-specific items called Monthly Collectibles with real currency. | Online Community Updated With new items a contests as well as having a unique forum system which only needs the page to be refreshed in order to see changes. Soon to have a new second site which will be a battle system. | Web |
| Granado Espada | imc GAMES | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG | Free play with the ability to purchase gold for ingame items such as UPCs(Unique Player Character. | Sword of the New World: Granado Espada was developed by Hakkyu Kim, CEO of imcGAMES and creator of Ragnarok Online. It was originally pay-to-play, but became free-to-play on August 21, 2007. | 3D |
| Gunbound | Softnyx | 2006 | Windows | Shooter, Action | Free to play with cash shop. | A turn-based game similar to Worms. | 2D |
| Gunz: The Duel | MAIET Entertainment | Beta-2003 Official-2005 | Windows | MMORPG Fighting | Browser (Windows client available), free-play, no in-game advertisement, where players can buy "G coins" at a rate of 10 G coins=1 American Dollar | Player characters fight on different levels and kill each other to level up. | 3D |
| Habbo | Sulake Ltd. | September 2001 | Internet | Chat | Option to buy Credits which can be used for items and 'Habbo Club' subscription. | Windows | 2D |
| Hattrick | Extralives | August 1997 | Browser-based | Sports game | Optional "supporter service" and "mobile service" | Players manage a simulated soccer team in competition with hundreds of thousands of other players. | Web |
| Kingdom of Loathing | Asymmetric Publications | February 2003 | Browser-based | Comedy, fantasy, RPG | Free to play with items available for purchase | Players follow a story to free King Ralph whilst interacting with others online. | Web |
| Kart Rider | Nexon | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG Racing | Free-play, with an item shop. | A racing MMO with multiplayer and singleplayer capabilities. | 3D |
| Lunia: Record of Lunia War | allm | February 18, 2008 | Windows | MMORPG, Action | Free to play with cash shop | An adventure with role playing elements, staging, comboing and PvPing. | 3D |
| MapleStory | Nexon | April 29, 2003 | Windows | Free to play, with items and gameplay enhancements available for purchase on website | 2D platform mixed with action RPG elements, quests, party quests, and guild quests | 2D | |
| Navy Field | SD Enternet | February 8, 2006 | Windows | MMORPG/Naval Simulation | Free to play, with additional items and gameplay enhancements available for purchase on website | A naval combat MMOG set during World War II. | |
| Nostale | Entwell | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG, Fantasy | Free play with item purchases | Player starts as an adventurer and can pick from three different classes in order to complete timestone missions and quests that follows with the game's story. | 2D |
| O2 Jam | 02 Media Inc. | March 31, 2006 | Windows | Music Rhythm/Beat | Free play, players may purchase in-game currency to buy clothes and other items. | This game involves controls that are similar to a piano. It is a rhythm game that contains over 300 different songs, with more that can be downloaded. | |
| Pangya/Albatross18 | Ntreev Soft | (Please add) | Windows | Sports game | Free play with item purchases | Anime-based, arcade-styled golf game. Items are primarily available through in-game money, with equivalent/seasonal items available through purchased 'Astros'. | 3D |
| Perfect World | Beijing Perfect World | July 2005 | Windows | Chinese mythology | Free play with item purchases | Perfect World is a full-feature 3D online game that is based on rich Chinese mythology and set in the world of Pangu,created a world with flying monsters and floating cities and ruins, all waiting to be explored. | 3D |
| PoxNora | Octopi, Inc. | August 2006 | Java | Real-time strategy, Fantasy | Free play with item purchases | ||
| Puzzle Pirates | Three Rings Design | December 8, 2003 | Windows, Mac, Linux | Piracy | Free play with special items and privileges available for purchase with secondary in game currency. Secondary currency may be traded between players or purchased with real money. | Players perform tasks as pirates by playing a number of puzzle-style mini games. | 2D |
| Rakion | softnyx | 2005 | Windows | MMOFPS | Free play with in-game currency and improved status available for purchase. | A room based game, were people create a room with a different game play type. Examples of this are PvP or Team PvP. | |
| Rappelz | nFlavor | 2006 | Windows | Fantasy | Free play with special items available for purchase | 3D | |
| Regnum Online | NGD Studios | 2007 | Windows, Linux | Fantasy | Free play with premium item available for purchase | Players join a realm in a fight against 2 other realms. Apart from the usual PvP, forts and castles are available to be captured. | 3D |
| Rising Force Online | Codemasters | 2006 | Windows | Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Free play with cash shop | Set in a distant planet where magic and technology co-exist, emphasizes a 3-way race vs. race vs. race PVP system | 3D |
| Second Life | Linden Lab | 2003 | Windows, Mac OS X, Linux (Alpha Release) | Virtual world | Basic accounts are free, real world currency can be converted to in game currency. | Freeform with in-game build system. Players can sell their own virtual creations. | 3D |
| Secret of the Solstice | DNC Entertainment | 2008 | Windows | Fantasy | Free play with non-permanent item purchases | Set in the world of Xen, players complete quests and customize characters using branching job trees. | 3D |
| Shaiya | Aeria | Unavailable | Windows | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Free to play, with premium items available to purchase. | Medieval combat and trading with PvP-centric gameplay. | 3D |
| Shot Online | OnNet Co. Ltd. | 2004 | Windows | Sports, MMORPG | Free to play with cash shop. | A sports MMO that is revolved around the sport of golf. | 3D |
| Silkroad Online | Joymax | 2005 | Windows | Chinese history, trade | Free play with items available for purchase | A mass online MMORPG based on the accurate scoring of ancient China's history revolving around a Triangular-Conflict trading system. | 3D |
| Soldier Front | Dragon Fly | 2007 | Windows | Shooter. Action | Free to play with an item shop. | A FPS with a synopsis similar to Counter-Strike. | 3D |
| Sudden Attack | GameHi | 2005 | Windows | First-person shooter | Free play with a cash and point shop. | A team based Military First-person shooter with its Ranking levels similar to the Republic of Korea's military rank system. | 3D |
| Tales of Pirates | MOLI | March 30, 2007 (Beta) | Windows | Piracy | In open-beta; free-play, with items for purchase | 3D | |
| There | There inc | 2003 | Windows | Virtual world | Basic accounts are free, Premium Membership is One-Time fee of $9.95 (Lifetime). real world currency can be converted to in game currency. | Freeform play / chat. Players can sell their own virtual creations. | 3D |
| Travian | Travian Games GmbH | (Please Add) | Browser-based | Historical strategy | Additional game tools are available for a fee. | Players interact in a virtual world set roughly in Classical antiquity at the time of the Roman Empire. | Web |
| Trickster Online | Ntreev Soft | April 2003 (Korea) | Windows | Fantasy | Free to play, with items available for purchase | 2D with 8 classes to choose from. | 2D |
| Voyage Century Online | Snail Game / IGG | December 22, 2006 | Windows | Historical nautical | Free play with items available for purchase | Set in the 17th century and features accurate historical representations of several coastal cities. | 3D |
| Xiah | Taewool Entertainment | 2006 | Windows | Martial arts | Free play with items available for purchase | Xiah was designed for players to enjoy martial arts in the form of an MMORPG. | |
| Yulgang | IGG | 2005 | Windows | Martial arts | Free play with items available for purchase | Based on the Korean martial arts comic which shares its name. |
[edit] Optional paid subscriptions
These MMOGs offer optional additional game content through paid subscription, but are otherwise free to play.
| Developer(s) | Release date | Required OS | Genre | Payment | Synopsis | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Penguin | Club Penguin Entertainment Inc and Rocketsnail Games | August 28, 2005 | Internet | Chat | Free or premium (paid) accounts available | Players play mini games to earn coins to spend on things for their character or house | 2D |
| Dofus | Ankama Games | September 2004 | Windows, Mac, Linux | Medieval fantasy MMORPG | Extra features available to subscribers | 2D | |
| Dungeon Runners | NCSoft | 2007 | Windows | MMORPG, Fantasy | Free to play, with an optional monthly subscription for extra content | Satirical Roguelike multiplayer RPG with randomly-generated, instanced dungeons. | 3D |
| Horseland | Horseland LLC | 1998 | Internet | Chat, Horses | Free to play. Option to pay to own your own stables and other privileges. | An online community where you can raise horses and dogs. | |
| Knight Online | MGame Corporation | 2004 | Windows | Medieval war | Some servers are free to play | 3D | |
| Mabinogi | Nexon | June 2004 | Windows | Fantasy | Free play with special items and privileges available for purchase through subscription or direct payment | An MMORPG based on Welsh mythology, with an emphasis on "Fantasy Life" rather than simply hack-and-slash. | 3D |
| OGame | Gameforge Productions | October 15, 2007 | Browser-based | Science-fiction strategy | The free-to-play version is advertising-based. Paid subscriptions and premium benefits are also available. | The gameplay revolves around building and maintaining a galactic empire. | Web |
| Pirates of the Caribbean Online | Disney | October 31, 2007 | Windows, Mac | Pirate Fantasy | Can play free, though paying option offers numerous more upgrades and features. | Players create their own pirate, and do quests while interacting with characters and following a similar storyline from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. | 3D |
| Puzzle Pirates | Three Rings Design | December 8, 2003 | Windows, Mac, Linux | Piracy | Some servers require a monthly subscription to play on, while others are free but require microtransactions for some items. | Players perform tasks as pirates by playing a number of puzzle-style mini games. | |
| Runescape | Jagex | 2001 | Browser-based 3d rendering | Medieval fantasy, MMORPG | Free play or paid accounts available, paid accounts have access to more skills, areas, weapons, and quests. | Players can do quests, fight, or raise their levels. The game is based around getting stats to 99 as well as completing quests. | 3D browser-based |
| Rubies of Eventide | Mnemosyne, LLC | 2003 | Windows | Medieval fantasy | Free play or paid accounts available, with server priority given to the latter | 3D | |
| Tibia | CipSoft GmbH | 1997 | Windows, Linux | Fantasy | Free to play with restricted content. Can upgrade to a "Premium Account" for full content. | One of the oldest MMORPGs. Character development based on killing monsters and (optionally) doing quests and fighting other players. | 2D |
| Wurm Online | Mojang Specifications Sunsplash Creations | 2006 | Java | Medieval fantasy MMORPG, MMOFS | Free or premium (paid) accounts available | Community-centric fantasy MMOFS developed in Java and OpenGL that strives to emulate real life in a fantasy medieval setting. | 3D |
[edit] Free play in open or closed beta
These MMOGs are free to play. They are still in beta, or development, stage.
| Developer(s) | Release date | Required OS | Genre | Synopsis | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dream of Mirror Online | Softstar Entertainment | Unavailable | Windows | MMORPG | Players are introduced to a story plot, but it is entirely optional. Players can choose to do either quests or other activities. This game contains a multi-class system. | 3D |
| Mythos | Flagship Studios | Unavailable | Windows | Fantasy MMORPG | An action heavy MMORPG from the makers of Fate and Diablo. | 3D |
| Shadow of Legend | SmartCell Technology | December 2006 | Windows PC, Windows Mobile, PDA, Smartphone | Adventure MMORPG | 2D MMORPG that can truly realize the interaction between mobile devices (smartphone & PDA) and PCs, allows players to enjoy adventuring anytime and from anywhere. | 2D |
| Domain of Heroes | Tandem Games | June 2008 | Windows, Mac OS, Linux | Fantasy MMORPG | Web-based MMORPG. Faction based w/territory control. Free to play; optional upgrades for customization and convenience features. | Web |
| Phosphor | rasterwerks.com | 2007 | Browser-based 3d rendering | First-person shooter | Browser-based First person shooter with 3d rendering. | 3D browser-based |
