American Free to Play MMORPGs and MMOs

While most free to play MMOs and MMORPGs are developed in Korea, China, or Japan, many American studios are starting to get in on the lucrative business. Free to play is the fastest growing segment of the MMO industry, and many American companies are starting to realize that. Let’s take a look at some of the top free to play MMOs and MMORPGs developed by American studios.

The Lord of the Rings Online

Developed and Published by Turbine, The Lord of the Rings Online was originally released in 2007 as a pay to play game. The game is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy franchise and heavily inspired by the recent movie trilogy. The game takes place during the adventures of the Fellowship, but players assume the role of Hobbits, Humans, Elves, and Dwarves who must contend with the forces of the Witch King while Froddo is off doing his thing in Mordor. LoTRO is heavily story driven, which is rare in the MMORPG genre. Players progress through several story arches as they progress and meet famous characters from the franchise. Its

Dungeons and Dragons Online

DDO was Turbine’s first MMORPG to go free to play. It was released in 2006, but had been struggling to retain paying players for years. The decision was made to convert the game to a free to play title and relaunch it under the subtitle Eberron Unlimited. The gamble worked and DDO’s revenues and playerbase shot up. Millions more now enjoy this 3D MMORPG that is loosely based on the 3.5 Edition ruleset for D&D. The game is heavily instanced based and has a strong emphasis on story. When players first enter a dungeon, there’s usually a narrative voice over, and plenty of hidden rooms to discover. You don’t have to be a fan of the D&D franchise to enjoy DDO, but fans will definitely feel at home.

Mytheon

Mytheon was developed by Petroglyph Games and is published by UTV True Games, both US based studios. The game combines MMORPG and Strategy elements to create a unique gameplay experience. The game world in Mytheon is instanced, but allows players to group up and explore it together. But even players who chose to go solo won’t feel alone since the game allows players to summon a variety of minions using an original card feature. Players create decks with runes they acquire and can cast those runes as they are drawn. Runes can summon creatures, structures, or cast spells. Because of its innovative gameplay style, PvP in Mytheon is also an interesting experience. There are also quests, bosses, and plenty of traditional MMORPG features so the game should still feel familiar to new players.

League of Legends

What happens when some of the biggest names in DotA start their own development studio? You get League of Legends. Its the first game by Riot Games and is a free to play AoS. AoS stands for ‘Aion of Strife’ and describes the genre that games like Dota and LoL belong to. Several other AoS MMOs have cropped up recently, including Avalon Heroes, and Heroes of Newerth by S2 Games. League of Legends has a leg up on both these competitors for various reasons, and on the original Dota which is restricted by the aging Warcraft 3 engine. Players can purchase individual heroes in League of Legends, or use the free ones which rotate periodically. LoL is continuously updated, highly competitive and can be played at multiple skill levels. The game has made its way into several international competitions and has a unique art style.

Company of Heroes Online

Company of Heroes was one of the mostly highly rated real time strategy (RTS) titles of all time. The game was developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. But when they wanted to release it in Asia, they ran across the prevailing free to play micro-transaction supported payment model. With the help of Shanda Games, the game was quickly adapted and released as Company of Heroes Online. With F2P growing here in the West, THQ released an updated version of Company of Heroes Online here in America. The result is a great strategy game that retains the award winning gameplay and the original campaign missions. The World War 2 themed CoHO is not a typical RTS. Like Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War. It encourages aggression with strategic nodes that automatically generate resources scattered across the maps. Players who turtle will fall further and further behind. With resource management and base construction tossed to the sidelines, players can focus entirely on combat. Individual units can be upgraded and customized in a variety of ways, and the new online features add a sense of progression with hero units and leader abilities that can be improved over time.

Savage 2

While S2 Games’ most recent game, Heroes of Newerth, didn’t make the list due to its price tag, Savage 2 is free to play. Like the original Savage, the sequel is a mix of genres. MMO, FPS, RTS, RPG, Savage 2 has a little bit of all of them. Matches involve two opposing sides, each lead by a commander who controls the field RTS-style. Individual players battle it out using melee and ranged weapons that their commander researches via structures. Players must work together to establish bases, mine resources, and destroy the opposing team’s headquarters while defending their own. Savage 2 has 3D graphics and the combat is action oriented. Individual skill plays a role, but team work will triumph. The game never grew very popular, mainly because its hard to pull off such coordination in public matches. Savage 2 still lives on and is free to play, though a $10 purchase unlocks some special features.

EverQuest 2

Yes, I know EverQuest 2 is owned by Sony, but Sony Online Entertainment is based in the US so it counts as an American game. like DDO and LoTRO, EverQuest 2 started its life as a pay to play game. But unlike Turbine, SOE decided to leave the current subscription servers untouched and open a new service called EverQuest 2: Extended which would be free to play. Restrictions on character slots, playable classes, and so forth could be unlocked via micro-transactions at the cash shop. The free to play servers still come with the years of content updates EQ2 has received. EverQuest 2 has a wide variety of classes, races, dungeons, raids, and advancement features to explore. Gameplay is slow paced compared to most free to play MMORPGs, but players should use that as an opportunity to really get immersed in the game world.

Quake Live

Back in my school years, Quake was a big part of my life. We would play it at home, and even at school by installing the game on the machines in the computer labs. Quake 3 was a purely competitive version of the series and was a classic fragfest. This was before the whole ‘tactical’ shooter craze. There was nothing realistic about gameplay in Quake. Players shot rockets under their feet to give themselves a huge boost, and bunny hopping like a maniac made you a good player. Quake Live is a free to play version of Quake 3 that launches from the browser. It has smoother graphics and gameplay, but the biggest improvement is in accessibility. Just login and play. The game has been in open beta for over a year, but recently moved to full release. Now’s the best time to check out this classic FPS. It is an oldschool game that may not appeal to today’s gamers, but for us Quake veterans its a way to relive past conquests.

America’s Army

A list of American free to play games has to include America’s Army, if only for the novelty value. Funded and managed by the United States Army, America’s Army is a 21st century recruiting tool that’s also a pretty realistic tactical shooter. The game has a steep learning curve, no bunny hopping or free-for-all modes here. All matches are team based and require coordination. Running out alone is a sure fire way to get gunned down. There are four ‘roles’ to chose from in America’s Army including Rifleman, Automatic Rifleman, Grenadier, and Squad Designated Marksman (or as we call it in the real world, Sniper.) There are also a number of different game modes where one side has to escort a VIP while the other has to gun him down. There’s no guarantee that doing well in America’s Army means you’ll make a good soldier, but you might get a call from a recruiter.

Second Life

Second Life is one of those games that has managed to attract a lot of media attention, but has left most gamers wondering ‘what?’ It’s a virtual world where people can socialize, design clothing, and even cyber. The game is driven by user generated content, and the creativity is on display in Harry Potter themed zones, large malls, dance clubs, and other areas. Its not like other MMORPGs, there’s no combat element at all. It’s not the first social game, but it manages to do the whole virtual world thing on a massive scale. The game’s currency is convertible into real cash, and some players have invested big bucks into the Second Life economy.

These are just ten free to play MMOs and MMORPGs developed by American studios. There are many more, so post your favorite ones below. You can check out similar lists we’ve published for Chinese, Korean, and Japanese MMORPGs.

By, Erhan Altay