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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Game_mechanics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Game_mechanics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Game mechanics</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Game_mechanics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>History</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-History-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Comparison_with_traditional_model" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Comparison_with_traditional_model"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Comparison with traditional model</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Comparison_with_traditional_model-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Comparison with traditional model subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Comparison_with_traditional_model-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Pay-to-win" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pay-to-win"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Pay-to-win</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pay-to-win-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Play-to-earn" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Play-to-earn"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Play-to-earn</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Play-to-earn-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Nagging" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Nagging"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Nagging</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Nagging-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Purchases_by_children" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Purchases_by_children"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>Purchases by children</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Purchases_by_children-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Outlook" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Outlook"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Outlook</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Outlook-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Free-to-play</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 32 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-32" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">32 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A3%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88_%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9" title="ألعاب فيديو مجانية – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="ألعاب فيديو مجانية" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Asturianu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videojuego_gratuito" title="Videojuego gratuito – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Videojuego gratuito" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C%E2%80%8C%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C_%D8%B1%D8%A7%DB%8C%DA%AF%D8%A7%D9%86" title="بازی‌های رایگان – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="بازی‌های رایگان" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B6%80%EB%B6%84_%EC%9C%A0%EB%A3%8C%ED%99%94" title="부분 유료화 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="부분 유료화" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_dimainkan" title="Gratis dimainkan – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Gratis dimainkan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88_%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8_%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B4" title="فيديو لعب بلاش – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="فيديو لعب بلاش" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percuma_untuk_dimainkan" title="Percuma untuk dimainkan – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Percuma untuk dimainkan" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratis_%C3%A5_spille" title="Gratis å spille – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Gratis å spille" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratuito_para_jogar" title="Gratuito para jogar – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Gratuito para jogar" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-simple mw-list-item"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Simple English" lang="en-simple" hreflang="en-simple" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Simple English" data-language-local-name="Simple English" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Simple English</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_to_play" title="Free to play – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Free to play" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmaispeli" title="Ilmaispeli – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Ilmaispeli" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-th mw-list-item"><a href="https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5" title="เล่นฟรี – Thai" lang="th" hreflang="th" data-title="เล่นฟรี" data-language-autonym="ไทย" data-language-local-name="Thai" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ไทย</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oynamas%C4%B1_%C3%BCcretsiz_oyun" title="Oynaması ücretsiz oyun – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Oynaması ücretsiz oyun" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-to-play" title="Free-to-play – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Free-to-play" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B6%B2%E7%B5%A1%E9%81%8A%E6%88%B2%E5%85%8D%E8%B2%BB%E6%A8%A1%E5%BC%8F" title="網絡遊戲免費模式 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="網絡遊戲免費模式" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%8D%E8%B4%B9%E6%B8%B8%E7%8E%A9" title="免费游玩 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="免费游玩" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1414510#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Free-to-play" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Free-to-play" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label 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title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > 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</div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" 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div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the business model for video games. For business models other than for games, see <a href="/wiki/Freemium" title="Freemium">Freemium</a>. For the Dota 2 film, see <a href="/wiki/Free_to_Play_(film)" title="Free to Play (film)">Free to Play (film)</a>.</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p><p><b>Free-to-play</b> (<b>F2P</b> or <b>FtP</b>) <a href="/wiki/Video_game" title="Video game">video games</a> are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which <a href="/wiki/Buy-to-play" title="Buy-to-play">requires a payment before using the game or service</a>. It is also separate from <a href="/wiki/Freeware" title="Freeware">freeware</a> games, which are entirely costless. Free-to-play's model is sometimes derisively referred to as <b>free-to-start</b> due to not being entirely free.<sup id="cite_ref-GS_cites_Iwata_coin_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GS_cites_Iwata_coin-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Free-to-play games have also been widely criticized as "<a href="/wiki/Pay-to-win" class="mw-redirect" title="Pay-to-win">pay-to-win</a>"—that is, that players can generally pay to obtain competitive or power advantages over other players. </p><p>There are several kinds of free-to-play business models. The most common is based on the <a href="/wiki/Freemium" title="Freemium">freemium</a> software model, in which users are granted access to a fully functional game but are incentivised to pay <a href="/wiki/Microtransaction" title="Microtransaction">microtransactions</a> to access additional content or more powerful in-game assets. Sometimes the content is entirely blocked without payment; other times it requires immense time 'unlocking' it for non-paying players, and paying the fee speeds the unlocking process. Another method of generating revenue is to <a href="/wiki/In-game_advertising" title="In-game advertising">integrate advertisements</a> into the game. And another is to sell <a href="/wiki/Theme_(computing)#Video_gaming" title="Theme (computing)">cosmetic upgrades</a> such as new outfits: these upgrades do not necessarily help the player win or compete. </p><p>The model was first popularly used in early <a href="/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game" title="Massively multiplayer online game">massively multiplayer online games</a> targeted towards <a href="/wiki/Casual_gamer" class="mw-redirect" title="Casual gamer">casual gamers</a>, before finding wider adoption among games released by major <a href="/wiki/Video_game_publisher" title="Video game publisher">video game publishers</a> to combat <a href="/wiki/Video_game_piracy" title="Video game piracy">video game piracy</a>. </p><p>The model has been used by games such as <i><a href="/wiki/Star_Wars:_The_Old_Republic" title="Star Wars: The Old Republic">Star Wars: The Old Republic</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Apex_Legends" title="Apex Legends">Apex Legends</a>,</i> <i><a href="/wiki/Fortnite_Battle_Royale" title="Fortnite Battle Royale">Fortnite Battle Royale</a>,</i> and the majority of the <a href="/wiki/Multiplayer_online_battle_arena" title="Multiplayer online battle arena">MOBA</a> games, which offer the "full version" of a product free of charge, while users are charged <a href="/wiki/Micropayment" title="Micropayment">micropayments</a> to access premium features and <a href="/wiki/Virtual_goods" title="Virtual goods">virtual goods</a>, often in a piecemeal fashion.<sup id="cite_ref-Tack,_Daniel_October_2013_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tack,_Daniel_October_2013-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Lejacq_December_2012_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Lejacq_December_2012-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Gill_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gill-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-LeJacq_September_2012_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-LeJacq_September_2012-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Game_mechanics">Game mechanics</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Game mechanics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In-game items can be purely cosmetic, enhance the power of the player, accelerate progression speed, and many more. A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit; after this expires, the item must be repurchased before the user can continue. Another commonly seen mechanic is the use of two in-game currencies: one earned through normal gameplay, and another which can be purchased with real-world money. The second, "premium" currency is sometimes given out in small amounts to non-paying players at certain times, such as when they first start the game, complete a quest, or <a href="/wiki/Referral_marketing" title="Referral marketing">refer a friend to the game</a>. Many browser games have an "energy bar" that depletes when the player takes actions. These games then sell items such as coffee or snacks to refill the bar.<sup id="cite_ref-Dark_Future_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Dark_Future-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Free-to-play games are free to install and play, but once the player enters the game, the player is able to purchase content such as items, maps, and expanded customization options.<sup id="cite_ref-death_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-death-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some games, such as id Software's <i><a href="/wiki/Quake_Live" title="Quake Live">Quake Live</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-future_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> also use in-game advertising to provide income for free-to-play games. In addition to making in-game items available for purchase, <a href="/wiki/Electronic_Arts" title="Electronic Arts">EA</a> integrates in-game advertising into its games. In August 2007, EA completed a deal with <a href="/wiki/Massive_Incorporated" title="Massive Incorporated">Massive Incorporated</a>, which lets Massive update and change in-game advertising in real-time within EA games.<sup id="cite_ref-ea_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ea-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Independent game developer <a href="/wiki/Edmund_McMillen" title="Edmund McMillen">Edmund McMillen</a> has claimed that he makes most of his money from sponsors by placing advertisements into the introduction of a game and the game's <a href="/wiki/Title_screen" class="mw-redirect" title="Title screen">title screen</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (April 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Matt_Mihaly" title="Matt Mihaly">Matt Mihaly</a> created the first known business model of exchanging virtual items for money in an online game, in 1997 for the flagship title <i><a href="/wiki/Achaea,_Dreams_of_Divine_Lands" title="Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands">Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands</a></i> for his corporation originally Achaea LLC that later became <a href="/wiki/Iron_Realms_Entertainment" title="Iron Realms Entertainment">Iron Realms Entertainment</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The free-to-play business model in online games was later realized by <a href="/wiki/Nexon" title="Nexon">Nexon</a> in <a href="/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> to a degree first catching more major media attention at the time.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The first Nexon game to use it, <i><a href="/wiki/QuizQuiz_(video_game)" title="QuizQuiz (video game)">QuizQuiz</a></i>, was released in October 1999. Its creator Lee Seungchan would go on to create <i><a href="/wiki/MapleStory" title="MapleStory">MapleStory</a></i>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The free-to-play model originated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, coming from a series of highly successful <a href="/wiki/Massively_multiplayer_online_game" title="Massively multiplayer online game">MMOs</a> targeted towards children and casual gamers, including <i><a href="/wiki/Furcadia" title="Furcadia">Furcadia</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Neopets" title="Neopets">Neopets</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/RuneScape" title="RuneScape">RuneScape</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-PCGamesN_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-PCGamesN-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Guinness_Records_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Guinness_Records-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/MapleStory" title="MapleStory">MapleStory</a></i>, and text-based dungeons such as <i><a href="/wiki/Achaea,_Dreams_of_Divine_Lands" title="Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands">Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Known for producing innovative titles, small <a href="/wiki/Independent_video_game_development" class="mw-redirect" title="Independent video game development">independent developers</a> also continue to release free-to-play games. </p><p>Free-to-play games are particularly prevalent in countries such as South Korea and the <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">People's Republic of China</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-death_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-death-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-bioware_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bioware-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Microtransaction" title="Microtransaction">Microtransaction</a>-based free-to-play <a href="/wiki/Mobile_game" title="Mobile game">mobile games</a> and <a href="/wiki/Browser_game" title="Browser game">browser games</a> such as <i><a href="/wiki/Puzzle_%26_Dragons" title="Puzzle & Dragons">Puzzle & Dragons</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Kantai_Collection" title="Kantai Collection">Kantai Collection</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Idolmaster_Cinderella_Girls" title="The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls">The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls</a></i> also have large player populations in Japan.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In particular, the <i><a href="/wiki/Nikkei_Shimbun" class="mw-redirect" title="Nikkei Shimbun">Nikkei Shimbun</a></i> reported that <i>Cinderella Girls</i> earns over 1 billion <a href="/wiki/Japanese_yen" title="Japanese yen">yen</a> in revenue monthly from microtransactions.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Electronic_Arts" title="Electronic Arts">Electronic Arts</a> first adopted the free-to-play concept in one of its games when it released <i><a href="/wiki/FIFA_Online" class="mw-redirect" title="FIFA Online">FIFA Online</a></i> in Korea.<sup id="cite_ref-ea_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ea-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the late 2000s, many MMOs transitioned to the free-to-play model from subscriptions,<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> including subscription-based games such as <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Online:_Shadows_of_Angmar" class="mw-redirect" title="The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar">The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Age_of_Conan:_Hyborian_Adventures" class="mw-redirect" title="Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures">Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_Online" title="Dungeons & Dragons Online">Dungeons & Dragons Online</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <i><a href="/wiki/Champions_Online" title="Champions Online">Champions Online</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-death_7-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-death-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This move from a subscription based model to a free-to-play one has proven very beneficial in some cases. <i>Star Wars: The Old Republic</i> is a good example of a game that transitioned from subscription to free-to-play.<sup id="cite_ref-Tack,_Daniel_October_2013_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Tack,_Daniel_October_2013-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Turbine,_Inc." class="mw-redirect" title="Turbine, Inc.">Turbine</a> as of September 10, 2010, has given an F2P with Cash shop option to <i><a href="/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Online" title="The Lord of the Rings Online">The Lord of the Rings Online</a></i> which resulted in a tripling of profit.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Sony_Online_Entertainment" class="mw-redirect" title="Sony Online Entertainment">Sony Online Entertainment</a>'s move to transition <i><a href="/wiki/EverQuest" title="EverQuest">EverQuest</a></i> from a subscription model into a hybrid F2P/subscription game was followed by a 125% spike in item sales, a 150% up-tick in unique log-ins, and over three times as many account registrations.<sup id="cite_ref-JoystiqEverQuest_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-JoystiqEverQuest-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The movement of free-to-play MMOs into the mainstream also coincided with experimentation with other genres as well. The model was picked up by larger developers and more diverse genres, with games such as <i><a href="/wiki/Battlefield_Heroes" title="Battlefield Heroes">Battlefield Heroes</a></i>,<sup id="cite_ref-ea_9-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ea-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i><a href="/wiki/Free_Realms" title="Free Realms">Free Realms</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Quake_Live" title="Quake Live">Quake Live</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Team_Fortress_2" title="Team Fortress 2">Team Fortress 2</a></i><sup id="cite_ref-future_8-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> appearing in the late 2000s. The experimentation was not successful in every genre, however. Traditional <a href="/wiki/Real_time_strategy" class="mw-redirect" title="Real time strategy">real time strategy</a> franchises such as <i><a href="/wiki/Age_of_Empires" title="Age of Empires">Age of Empires</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer" title="Command & Conquer">Command & Conquer</a></i> both attempted free-to-play titles. <i><a href="/wiki/Age_of_Empires_Online" title="Age of Empires Online">Age of Empires Online</a></i> was shut down in the midst of a tiny player base and stagnant revenue,<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <i><a href="/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer:_Generals_2" class="mw-redirect" title="Command & Conquer: Generals 2">Command & Conquer: Generals 2</a></i> was shut down in alpha due to negative reactions from players.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2011, revenue from free-to-play games overtook revenue from premium games in the top 100 games in Apple's App Store.<sup id="cite_ref-overtakes_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-overtakes-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The percentage of people that spend money on in-game items in these games ranges from 0.5% to 6%, depending on a game's quality and <a href="/wiki/Game_mechanics" title="Game mechanics">mechanics</a>. Even though this means that a large number of people will never spend money in a game, it also means that the people that do spend money could amount to a sizeable number due to the fact that the game was given away for free.<sup id="cite_ref-overtakes_25-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-overtakes-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Indeed a report from mobile advertising company firm SWRV stated that only 1.5 percent of players opted to pay for in-game items, and that 50 percent of the revenue for such games often came from just ten percent of players.<sup id="cite_ref-SWRV_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SWRV-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Nevertheless <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post">The Washington Post</a></i> noted that the developers of two such games, <a href="/wiki/Supercell_(video_game_company)" class="mw-redirect" title="Supercell (video game company)">Supercell</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Clash_of_Clans" title="Clash of Clans">Clash of Clans</a></i>) and <a href="/wiki/Machine_Zone" title="Machine Zone">Machine Zone</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Game_of_War:_Fire_Age" title="Game of War: Fire Age">Game of War: Fire Age</a></i>), were able to afford <a href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_commercials" title="Super Bowl commercials">Super Bowl commercials</a> in <a href="/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLIX" title="Super Bowl XLIX">2015</a> featuring big-name celebrities (respectively <a href="/wiki/Liam_Neeson" title="Liam Neeson">Liam Neeson</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kate_Upton" title="Kate Upton">Kate Upton</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-SWRV_26-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SWRV-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Mac_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Mac-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The latter, <i>Game of War</i>, was in fact, part of a roughly $40 million campaign starring Upton. </p><p>As of 2012, free-to-play <a href="/wiki/Multiplayer_online_battle_arena" title="Multiplayer online battle arena">MOBAs</a>, such as <i><a href="/wiki/League_of_Legends" title="League of Legends">League of Legends</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Dota_2" title="Dota 2">Dota 2</a>,</i> <i><a href="/wiki/Heroes_of_the_Storm" title="Heroes of the Storm">Heroes of the Storm</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/Smite_(video_game)" title="Smite (video game)">Smite</a></i> had become among the most popular PC games.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The success in the genre has helped convince many <a href="/wiki/Video_game_publisher" title="Video game publisher">video game publishers</a> to copy the free-to-play MOBA model.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>During 2015, <a href="/wiki/Rakuten#2014" title="Rakuten">Slice Intelligence</a> tracked people that bought products in mobile video games, and these players spent an average of $87 in free-to-play games.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The highest spending per player in 2015 was in <i><a href="/wiki/Game_of_War:_Fire_Age" title="Game of War: Fire Age">Game of War: Fire Age</a></i>, where the players that bought products on average spent $550.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Comparison_with_traditional_model">Comparison with traditional model</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Comparison with traditional model"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The free-to-play model has been described as a shift from the traditional model, also known as premium-priced games, where consumers paid for the cost of the game upfront and the game's success was measured by multiplying the number of units of a game sold by the unit price. Within free-to-play, the most important factor is the number of players that a game can keep continuously engaged, followed by how many compelling spending opportunities the game offers its players. With free games that include in-game purchases, two particularly important things occur: first, more people will try out the game since there is zero cost to doing so and second, revenue will likely be more than a traditional game since different players can now spend different amounts of money that depend on their engagement with the game and their preferences towards it. Player populations that spend money on free-to-play games can be broken up into terms that borrow from gambling: "<a href="/wiki/High_roller" title="High roller">whales</a>" which typically are the smallest segment, up to around 10% of players, but are willing to spend the most on a game; "dolphins" which represent a larger portion of around 40% of players who spend some money but not as much as whales; and "minnows", representing about half the population, who spend the barest amount to maintain activity.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> As a result of this distribution, whales typically provide most of the revenue in free to play games, and in some cases, 50% of the revenue comes from 0.15% of players ("white whales") in one report.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It is not unlikely for a very few players to spend tens of thousands of dollars in a game that they enjoy.<sup id="cite_ref-overtakes_25-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-overtakes-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>For PC gaming specifically, two challenges exist: video game piracy and demanding system requirements. The free-to-play model attempts to solve both these problems by providing a game that requires relatively low system requirements and at no cost, and consequently provides a highly accessible experience funded by advertising and <a href="/wiki/Micropayments" class="mw-redirect" title="Micropayments">micropayments</a> for extra content or an advantage over other players.<sup id="cite_ref-future_8-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Free-to-play is newer than the <a href="/wiki/Pay_to_play" class="mw-redirect" title="Pay to play">pay to play</a> model, and the video game industry is still attempting to determine the best ways to maximize revenue from their games. Gamers have cited the fact that purchasing a game for a fixed price is still inherently satisfying because the consumer knows exactly what they will be receiving, compared to free-to-play which requires that the player pay for most new content that they wish to obtain. The term itself, "free-to-play", has been described as one with a negative connotation. One video game developer noted this, stating, "Our hope—and the basket we're putting our eggs in—is that 'free' will soon be disassociated with [sic] 'shallow' and 'cruddy'." However, another noted that developing freeware games gave developers the largest amount of creative freedom, especially when compared to developing console games, which requires that the game follow the criteria as laid out by the game's publisher.<sup id="cite_ref-future_8-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Many kinds of revenue are being experimented with. For example, with its <i>Free Realms</i> game targeted to children and casual gamers, Sony makes money from the product with advertisements on <a href="/wiki/Loading_screen" title="Loading screen">loading screens</a>, free virtual goods sponsored by companies such as <a href="/wiki/Best_Buy" title="Best Buy">Best Buy</a>, a subscription option to unlock extra content, a <a href="/wiki/Collectible_card_game" title="Collectible card game">collectible card game</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Comic_book" title="Comic book">comic book</a>, and micropayment items that include character customization options.<sup id="cite_ref-future_8-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2020, a study from Germany concluded that some free-to-play games use the "money illusion" as a form to hide the true cost of products. When they examined the game <i>Fortnite</i>, they found that since the in-game currency does not have a unique exchange rate, it can conceal the true cost of an in-game purchase, resulting in players potentially paying more than they realize.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2021 the study was used to take legal action against Epic Games, the publisher of <i>Fortnite</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Pay-to-win">Pay-to-win</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Pay-to-win"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In some games, players who are willing to pay for special items, <a href="/wiki/Downloadable_content" title="Downloadable content">downloadable content</a>, or to skip cooldown timers may be able to gain an advantage over those playing for free who might otherwise hardly be able to access said items. Such games are called "<b>pay-to-win</b>" (abbreviated as "P2W").<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In general a game is considered pay-to-win when a player can gain any advantage over their non-paying peers.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Market research indicates that pay-to-win mechanics are considered much more acceptable by players in China than in Western countries, possibly because Chinese players are more habituated to recurring costs associated with gaming, such as <a href="/wiki/Gaming_caf%C3%A9" class="mw-redirect" title="Gaming café">gaming café</a> fees.<sup id="cite_ref-Huang_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Huang-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A common suggestion for avoiding pay-to-win is for payments to only be used to broaden the experience without affecting gameplay.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> For example, some games, such as <i><a href="/wiki/Dota_2" title="Dota 2">Dota 2</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Fortnite_Battle_Royale" title="Fortnite Battle Royale">Fortnite Battle Royale</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/StarCraft_II" title="StarCraft II">StarCraft II</a></i>, only allow the purchase of cosmetic items, meaning that a player who has spent money on the game will still be on the same level as a player who has not. Others suggest finding a balance where a game encourages players to pay for extra content that enhances the game without making the free version feel limited by comparison.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This theory is that players who do not pay for items would still increase awareness of it through <a href="/wiki/Word_of_mouth" title="Word of mouth">word of mouth</a> marketing, which ultimately benefits the game indirectly.<sup id="cite_ref-Huang_41-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Huang-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In response to concerns about players using payments to gain an advantage in the game, titles such as <i><a href="/wiki/World_of_Tanks" title="World of Tanks">World of Tanks</a></i> have explicitly committed to not giving paying players any advantages over their non-paying peers, while allowing the users buying the "gold" or "premium" ammo and expendables without paying the real money. However, features affecting gameplay and <a href="/wiki/Win_rate" title="Win rate">win rate</a>, such as purchasing a 100% crew training level, a premium account, premium vehicles, and converting <a href="/wiki/Experience_point" title="Experience point">experience points</a> to free experience points, remain available for the paying customers only.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Play-to-earn">Play-to-earn</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Play-to-earn"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Blockchain#Games" title="Blockchain">Blockchain § Games</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Blockchain_game" title="Blockchain game">Blockchain game</a></div> <p>Play-to-earn, also known as pay-to-earn, is a model of monetization that uses <a href="/wiki/Cryptocurrency" title="Cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</a> and other <a href="/wiki/Blockchain" title="Blockchain">blockchain</a> technologies.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Nagging">Nagging</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Nagging"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Bait-and-switch" title="Bait-and-switch">Bait-and-switch</a></div> <p>In single-player games, another concern is the tendency for free games to constantly request that the player buy extra content, in a similar vein to <a href="/wiki/Nagware" class="mw-redirect" title="Nagware">nagware</a> and <a href="/wiki/Trialware" class="mw-redirect" title="Trialware">trialware</a>'s frequent demands for the user to "upgrade". Payment may be required in order to survive or continue in the game, annoying or distracting the player from the experience.<sup id="cite_ref-future_8-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-future-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some psychologists, such as <a href="/wiki/Mark_D._Griffiths" title="Mark D. Griffiths">Mark D. Griffiths</a>, have criticized the mechanics of freemium games as exploitative, drawing direct parallels to <a href="/wiki/Gambling_addiction" class="mw-redirect" title="Gambling addiction">gambling addiction</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Purchases_by_children">Purchases by children</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Purchases by children"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The ubiquitous and often intrusive use of <a href="/wiki/Microtransactions" class="mw-redirect" title="Microtransactions">microtransactions</a> in free-to-play games has sometimes caused children to either inadvertently or deliberately pay for large amounts of virtual items, often for drastically high amounts of real money. In February 2013, <i><a href="/wiki/Eurogamer" title="Eurogamer">Eurogamer</a></i> reported that Apple had agreed to refund a British family £1700.41 after their son had purchased countless microtransactions whilst playing the F2P game <i>Zombies vs. Ninjas</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Outlook">Outlook</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Outlook"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Pointing to the disruptive effect of free-to-play on current models, <a href="/wiki/IGN" title="IGN">IGN</a> editor Charles Onyett stated in 2011 that "expensive, one-time purchases are facing extinction". He believes that the current method of paying a one-time fee for most games will eventually disappear completely.<sup id="cite_ref-death_7-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-death-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Greg_Zeschuk" title="Greg Zeschuk">Greg Zeschuk</a> of BioWare believes there is a good possibility that free-to-play would become the dominant pricing plan for games, but that it was very unlikely that it would ever completely replace subscription-based games.<sup id="cite_ref-bioware_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bioware-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Developers such as <a href="/wiki/Electronic_Arts" title="Electronic Arts">Electronic Arts</a> have pointed to the success of freemium, saying that microtransactions will inevitably be part of every game.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> While noting the success of some developers with the model, companies such as <a href="/wiki/Nintendo" title="Nintendo">Nintendo</a> have remained skeptical of free-to-play, preferring to stick to more traditional models of game development and sales.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In February 2015 Apple began featuring popular non-freemium software on the App Store as "Pay Once & Play", describing them as "Great Games with No In-App Purchases ... hours of uninterrupted fun with complete experiences".<sup id="cite_ref-clover20150212_52-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-clover20150212-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-paul20150213_53-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-paul20150213-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_commercial_video_games_released_as_freeware" title="List of commercial video games released as freeware">List of commercial video games released as freeware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_4_free-to-play_games" title="List of PlayStation 4 free-to-play games">List of PlayStation 4 free-to-play games</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gacha_game" title="Gacha game">Gacha</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loot_box" title="Loot box">Loot box</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source_video_game" title="Open-source video game">Open-source video game</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-GS_cites_Iwata_coin-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GS_cites_Iwata_coin_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 28,</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Finance+Research+Letters&rft.atitle=The+new+crypto+niche%3A+NFTs%2C+play-to-earn%2C+and+metaverse+tokens&rft.volume=47&rft.pages=2&rft.date=2022-02-25&rft_id=info%3Ahdl%2F10234%2F199316&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A247137978%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.frl.2022.102742&rft.aulast=Vidal-Tom%C3%A1s&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fmpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de%2F112673%2F1%2FMPRA_paper_112389.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFree-to-play" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMike_Rose2013" class="citation web cs1">Mike Rose (July 9, 2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/195806/chasing_the_whale_examining_the_.php">"Chasing the Whale: Examining the ethics of free-to-play games"</a>. <i>Gamasutra</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 5,</span> 2016</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Macworld&rft.atitle=Apple+highlights+games+without+in-app+purchases+in+the+App+Store&rft.date=2015-02-13&rft.au=Paul%2C+Ian&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.macworld.com%2Farticle%2F2883923%2Fapple-highlights-games-without-in-app-purchases-in-the-app-store.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFree-to-play" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Free-to-play&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10164614-62.html">"Making money with 'free-to-play' games"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20121102085849/http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10164614-62.html">Archived</a> November 2, 2012, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> on <a href="/wiki/Download.com" class="mw-redirect" title="Download.com">CNET</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4046/what_are_the_rewards_of_.php">"What Are The Rewards Of 'Free-To-Play' MMOs?"</a> on <a href="/wiki/Gamasutra" class="mw-redirect" title="Gamasutra">Gamasutra</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pcgamesarchive.com/list-of-free-to-play-pc-games/">List of Free to Play PC Games</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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href="/wiki/Template:Video_game_monetization" title="Template:Video game monetization"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Video_game_monetization" title="Template talk:Video game monetization"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Video_game_monetization" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Video game monetization"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Video_game_monetization" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Video_game_monetization" title="Video game monetization">Video game monetization</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">General concepts</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Digital_distribution" title="Digital distribution">Digital distribution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Downloadable_content" title="Downloadable content">Downloadable content</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Games_as_a_service" title="Games as a service">Games as a service</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Microtransaction" title="Microtransaction">Microtransactions</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Types</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Adware" title="Adware">Advertising-based</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blockchain_game" title="Blockchain game">Blockchain game</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buy-to-play" title="Buy-to-play">Buy-to-play</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Free-to-play</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Freemium" title="Freemium">Freemium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Freeware" title="Freeware">Freeware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premium_game" class="mw-redirect" title="Premium game">Premium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shareware" title="Shareware">Shareware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subscription_business_model" title="Subscription business model">Subscription-based</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pay-to-play" title="Pay-to-play">Pay-to-play</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Approaches</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Loot_box" title="Loot box">Loot box</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gacha_game" title="Gacha game"><i>Gacha</i> games</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Season_pass_(video_games)" title="Season pass (video games)">Season pass</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_pass" title="Battle pass">Battle pass</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Skin_gambling" title="Skin gambling">Skin gambling‎</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related topics</th><td 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