Category: Buy-to-Play

Star Trek Bridge Crew

Star Trek Bridge Crew is a cooperative VR starship simulator set in the Star Trek universe, built around the fantasy of sitting on a Federation bridge and actually running the ship with a real crew. Up to four players take on distinct bridge roles aboard the USS Aegis, coordinating navigation, power management, shields, and weapons as they push into the Trench in search of a viable new home for the Vulcan people.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Playerbase: Low
Type: VR Simulation
Release Date: May 30, 2017
Pros: +Authentic Star Trek atmosphere and presentation. +Campaign plus procedural missions for extra sessions. +Four distinct bridge roles that encourage teamwork.
Cons: -Small playerbase. -Limited mission variety overall. -Cross-platform and headset compatibility issues can appear.

Forza Horizon 3

Forza Horizon 3 drops you into a sun-soaked slice of Australia and lets you tackle it like a rolling car festival, rather than a strict track racer. With a garage that clears 350 vehicles and an open map built for roaming, it is as much about sightseeing and stunts as it is about clean lap times.

Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Playerbase: High
Type: Racing
Release Date: September 27, 2016
Pros: +Huge car roster (350+). +Expansive open-world Australia. +Co-op campaign for up to four. +Cross-platform support.
Cons: -Lengthy loading. -Menus can feel unintuitive.

Ghost Recon Wildlands

Ghost Recon Wildlands is a sprawling open-world shooter that drops you into Bolivia as part of the U.S. Army’s fictional Ghost unit. The objective is straightforward but ambitious, dismantle the Santa Blanca Cartel through a flexible, player-driven campaign built around planning, scouting, and coordinated assaults.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Playerbase: Medium
Type: Shooter
Release Date: March 7, 2017
Pros: +Plenty of ways to get around the map. +Striking landscapes and varied regions. +Designed with 4-player co-op in mind.
Cons: -Does not always deliver the tight tactical feel the premise suggests.

Sea of Thieves

Sea of Thieves is a first-person, shared-world pirate adventure built around co-op crews, emergent encounters, and open-sea exploration, where the real challenge is as often the ocean and rival players as it is any scripted voyage.

Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Playerbase: Medium
Type: MMO Action Adventure
Release Date: March 21, 2018
Pros: +Hands-on sailing and satisfying ship-to-ship battles. +Large ocean map with many distinct islands and points of interest. +Strong crew-focused co-op that encourages teamwork. +Excellent water visuals and wave physics.
Cons: -Per-server player cap can make the world feel less busy than expected. -Progression is light, with most rewards being cosmetic. -Sold as a full-price release.

Depth

Depth is a 3D asymmetric PvP title built around a simple, effective fantasy, divers descend for treasure while sharks patrol the depths looking for an easy meal. One side relies on tools, teamwork, and positioning, the other side thrives on ambushes, mobility, and panic.

Publisher: Digital Confectioners
Playerbase: Small
Type: MMO Action
Release Date: November 03, 2014
Pros: +Fresh diver-versus-shark matchups. +Six shark species that feel meaningfully different. +Tense, quick fights with lots of clutch moments.
Cons: -Visuals can look dated. -Non-popular modes can be hard to find matches for. -A few arenas are so dark that readability suffers.

For Honor

For Honor is a medieval-flavored 3D hack-and-slash action MOBA built around precision melee duels and team fights. Rather than relying on twitch shooting, it asks you to read opponents, manage spacing, and time blocks, parries, and counters while three rival factions battle for dominance.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Playerbase: High
Type: Hack-and-Slash Action
Release Date: February 14, 2017
Pros: +High-end visuals and convincing animation. +Tense, skill-focused melee. +Three factions with strong identity.
Cons: -Peer-to-peer hosting. -Unstable connections at times. -Demanding learning curve.

Legion TD 2

Legion TD 2 is a buy-to-play strategy MMO that turns the tower defense formula into a competitive 2v2 battle of planning and prediction. You place fighters on a grid to automatically fight incoming waves, then try to outlast the opposing team by building a defense that can handle pressure spikes and punish greedy builds.

Publisher: AutoAttack Games
Playerbase: Low
Type: Tower Defense
Release Date: Q2 2017
Pros: +A huge roster of fighters with meaningful matchups. +Distinctive 2v2 multiplayer twist on tower defense fundamentals. +Enchantments add build variety and long-term experimentation.
Cons: -Not much detailed information is readily available.

Steep

Steep is an open-world winter sports MMO that drops you into a shared version of the Alps and asks a simple question: do you want to chase leaderboards, or just find your own line down the mountain. Between snowboarding, skiing, wingsuit flights, and paragliding runs, it leans heavily on free exploration, recorded rides, and bite-sized challenges that you can tackle solo or alongside other players.

Publisher: Ubisoft
Playerbase: Medium
Type: Open-World Winter Sports
Release Date: December 3, 2016
Pros: +Gorgeous, continuous mountain playground. +Accessible controls that are easy to pick up. +Robust replay tools and user-made lines. +Works well as a solo roam or a social session.
Cons: -Full-price buy-in feels steep. -Jumping and airtime can feel awkward. -Not a huge variety of challenge types. -Demanding PC requirements.

Conan Exiles

Conan Exiles drops you into a brutal sandbox set in the Conan universe, where survival is earned through gathering, crafting, and hard fighting. As an outcast left to die, you will scavenge what you can, shape it into tools and weapons, and eventually raise anything from a simple shelter to a fortified stronghold.

Publisher: Funcom
Playerbase: Medium
Type: B2P Survival Game
Release Date: January 30, 2017
Pros: +Crunchy, brutal combat paired with strong visuals. +Light RPG progression and build choices. +Distinct regions that reward exploration. +Deep crafting that supports both gear and large-scale building.
Cons: -Server caps top out at 70 players. -Optimization and stability can be inconsistent.

Dead By Daylight

Dead by Daylight is a 3D survival horror title built around asymmetric 4vs1 PvP. One player becomes the Killer, and the other four must cooperate, improvise, and stay calm long enough to escape the trial.

Developer: Behaviour Digital Inc.
Playerbase: High
Type: B2P Survival Horror
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Pros: +Tense 4v1 cat-and-mouse matches. +Procedurally generated maps keep rounds fresh. +Meaningful character progression. +Several distinct Killer playstyles.
Cons: –No party matchmaking. -No penalties for quitting. -Perk system can feel uneven