What is an MMOF2P?
MMOF2P is an abbreviation of the English term “Massively Multiplayer Online Free to Play”, which stands for free online game. You can play an MMOF2P for free. It stands in contrast to“pay to play ” games. As a rule, MMOF2P games require a download and no monthly subscription in order to access the servers of the game in question. In contrast to pay-to-play titles, this economic concept is fairly recent and has spread very quickly in the world of video games.
MMOF2P games can be financed in different ways: through advertising or through a concept of purchasing virtual goods, which can be similar to items or currency for example. Furthermore, the economic concepts of pay-to-play and free-to-play are not exclusive, as they can be submitted in both pay-to-play and free-to-play versions. The game Second Life is a perfect example of this, as it also offers a subscription-based pay version. At the same time, there are also online games that are free in their alpha and beta versions and then change to a paid version during their respective exploitation phase.
How can developers finance themselves through MMOF2P? In general, they offer gamers the possibility to buy additional content which can be in the form of virtual currency, new characters, weapons, various comfort bonuses, time bonuses or customisation.
History and development of MMOF2P
The expansion of the video game industry has resulted in a large number of major games, which has led to strong competition, making it more difficult for smaller developers to establish themselves. With the MMOF2P system, gamers can play a variety of MMOs at the same time without having to pay for them. It also gives them the opportunity to test them out before deciding whether they want to continue playing or not, and to invest money in them in the near future.
By means of this economic concept, the web has seen a large number of different games appear. Before this phenomenon, it was MMORPGs that invaded the web, giving thousands of gamers the opportunity to play simultaneously. However, most of these games were pay-to-play and required a monthly subscription. Now, most of the new MMORPGs in 2018 are free-to-play, thus popularising the MMOF2P genre.
See also >> Glossary