2020 Further Establishes the Need to be Free in Gaming

Free gaming has been around since the advent of the internet, with whole websites hosting vast libraries of simple, free games to play. There weren’t any strings attached, perhaps a few advertisements on the site, but you could get the whole game for free. To play the best games, you’d have to pay the premium price set by retailers, with the cost granting you access to the full title, in which you could earn your way to all its levels and accomplishments.

Now, free gaming means something very different in most spheres of the entertainment medium, and it’s all because of mobile gaming. While similar designs were around beforehand, mobile games popularised the freemium method through which people could play for free but would need to pay small amounts to speed-up progression or unlock small aspects of content. The freemium model has since been integrated into premium games, and free games are now colossal money-makers.

Over half of all global game revenues are now generated by mobile games, the vast majority of which are free-to-play and feature microtransaction stores. With so many people enjoying games for free and paying in small amounts as they see fit, the industry has been forced to adapt. The audience now scrutinises value to a greater degree, seeing that premium price tag and weighing it against accessible, easygoing mobile titles.

Throughout 2020, we’ve seen the emphasis on free content and free stuff ramp up across gaming, from the established consoles to the PC-based gaming platforms. With the competition continuing to escalate, and mobile gaming forever fuelling the emphasis, last year further cemented the need for free.

Consoles battle on their free games, and then some

 

Source: Pexels

Based on the headlines that gripped gaming throughout the last few months of the year, we can assume that gamers are more than willing to jump on any new hardware regardless of the price. Both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X reportedly sold out many times over during their pre-order windows alone. And yet, only the PS5 offered new games and a new experience of the two.

Much of this comes from what both Sony and Microsoft established in the previous console generation. The PS4 outsold the Xbox One, by well over two-to-one, primarily spurred by its exclusive games – which the Xbox continues to lack. Still, the Xbox’s fandom can be drawn back to its online subscription set-up, which comes with free games.

Xbox Live Gold is a subscription service which allows users to play games online, with PS Plus being the PlayStation equivalent. Now, both services offer different games for players to download for free each month. PS Plus even goes another step further for early PS5 adopters, with the subscription bundling in its standard two free games for all each month, as well as a bonus PS5 game.

Forever the people’s champion, Nintendo isn’t always included in talk of the so-called ‘console wars,’ but its home consoles have been a staple of gaming for decades. The Nintendo Switch continues to sell incredibly well. Nintendo’s online service subscription going a step further than both Xbox Live Gold and PS Plus. Nintendo Online offers an extensive back catalogue of Nintendo classics for free, and those who purchase games through their online store can get physical rewards in 2021, as detailed at https://www.exbulletin.com/.

Free gaming still integral to PC gamers

 

Source: Unsplash

Perhaps seen as the classic home of free gaming, many PC gamers laud their more adaptable, expensive, and powerful hardware to enjoy the best gaming experience possible. However, free games still have tremendous pulling power with the computer gaming audience. This has been further epitomised in the PC launcher wars, with the all-but-monopolised scene continuing to be disrupted by the upstart Epic Games.

A gaming company that owes much of its millions to its free-to-play game Fortnite, the Epic Games Store was launched with the highly publicised intent of usurping Steam. This divided PC gamers , especially because so many who didn’t like another platform trying to divide their game library couldn’t argue with the almost absurd regular offering of completely free games for anyone who would sign-up to Epic. Along with free games from month-to-month, Epic also wins more favour with their events of daily free games.

More modern browser-based gaming platforms have continued to pander to the expectation of free gaming first. While the real-money versions are available on the site, the online casino platforms are definitely a good example of it. Sites like https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/ recognises players’ desire to test a full game first, and so, offers the biggest slots from the internet and Las Vegas for free. The likes of Golden Goddess, Book of Dead, and Spartacus are free for anyone to play. As all online slots feature different, often hidden, mechanics, the ability to play them for free has proven to be very popular.

Gamers look for their free options, much more so now that mobiles have popularised the zero price tag. While mobile games don’t always offer a large amount of entertainment before a paywall comes down, their influence on other areas has helped to make gaming much more player-friendly.