The free-to-play market is dominated by battle royales like Warzone, and team-based multiplayer games like Team Fortress 2. There are some free RPG and co-op games here and there but rarely do open-world games go the free-to-play route.
This is because open-world games such as Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption 2 entail high development costs and a market value that’s difficult to ignore. However, that hasn’t prevented some from taking a different approach to monetization and releasing their big, beautiful digital worlds for free, though perhaps at the cost of paid DLC or microtransactions. Here are the best free open-world games someone can dive into without spending a dime.
Updated January 20, 2023 by Mark Sammut: Free open-world games are nearly exclusively MMOs, although the genre can be split into an array of subcategories. There are action RPGs, sci-fi, shooters, solo-focused, and multiplayer-driven MMOs, and that is just scratching the surface. The article has been expanded to highlight a few more great free open-world games.
Warframe
Destiny 2 and Warframe are at each other’s necks in dominating the open-world RPG market. Like Call Of Duty and Battlefield, they each do something very different from the other but are loved nonetheless by the same types of players. Warframe lets players choose from more than 30 different Warframes, which essentially make up the game’s class system, and each gives a totally different gameplay experience from the other. The open world of Warframe is beautifully crafted to immerse players in the galactic setting of the game. With 18 different worlds, players surely have some time to invest in this free-to-play game.
RuneScape
Somehow, RuneScape is still around more than two decades following its debut. The MMORPG was one of the first of its kind on the market, and while hundreds of other games have shown up to take its place, precious few have had the longevity and appeal of RuneScape.
The RPG’s calling card is its progression system that allows players to gain experience points through the execution of skills. It makes most actions feel purposeful, even if the combat itself is quite simplistic. The open-world offers a surprising amount of variety, although the free version does come with its share of restrictions that reduce the overall enjoyment of the experience.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact was a massive success right out of the gate, and miHoYo has done a good job of maintaining the game’s momentum. Set in the beautiful world of Teyvat, the action RPG allows players to build teams of four characters that they can swap in battle, and the campaign’s harder challenges require a balanced party filled with fighters who complement each other.
Combat is generally its main focus, but Genshin Impact encourages exploration as well. The game launched with a reasonably large open-world, and subsequent updates introduced new regions to expand the map. Although the end-game can be frustrating for non-paying users, the main story is quite accessible by free-to-play standards, provided someone tolerates Genshin’s gacha system.
Trove
Another blocky game following in the footsteps of Minecraft, Trove grants much more freedom to players right away. Trion’s game gives gamers the chance to explore a massive world where they can harvest resources, build awesome bases, and acquire epic, flying mounts. The visuals are also incredible, with the kind of lighting and textures that Minecraft and similar games can only usually compare with after having mods installed.
Trove’s open-world structure is slightly different from the norm. Players drop into a hub area where they can enter portals to visit multiple worlds, which essentially act as self-contained open maps. The game also has different classes to allow for unique play styles.
Albion Online
Debuting in 2017 and still pulling respectable numbers on Steam, Albion Online might not always get all that much attention but the medieval MMORPG has etched out a niche for itself. Albion Online is one of the more player-driven free-to-play open-world games on the market, as its economy is entirely dependent on the player base’s creations. This system creates an enjoyable loop that enhances the game’s PVP and PVE elements, and Albion Online excels in both sections.
Albion Online takes place in a familiar open-world, albeit one that has plenty of personality and surprises waiting for those willing to search for them.
Unturned
Another game inspired by Minecraft, Unturned is an open-world zombie game that features similar mechanics to DayZ. Players start out with nothing, looting and scavenging their way up to building a community. Alliances can be formed, animals can be hunted, and crops can be planted in this survival game.
The amazing part about this game is that since it sports a Minecraft art style and graphics, anyone with even a 2007 office laptop can run it. This free-to-play game has a surprisingly high Steam rating too, with an impressive 91% positive score.
Neverwinter
Set in a Dungeon & Dragons setting, fans of both classic RPGs and MMOs will likely adore Neverwinter, for it has many elements of gamers’ favorite titles in these genres rolled into an epic fantasy setting. With tons of magic, weapons, and skills, players can build any kind of character they desire from among 12 races including fascinating and unique ones like the not-often-seen Tieflings and Dragonborn.
Neverwinter is approaching its 10-year anniversary, and while the game shows its age in certain places, there is still a lot to enjoy here. The MMORPG does push its pay systems quite heavily, but new players can get a lot of mileage without needing to spend a dime.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
This absolutely free RPG lets players fully immerse themselves in the universe of the Star Wars franchise. What’s interesting about Star Wars: The Old Republic is that besides having eight different classes to choose from (and great customization options), the game has a different storyline for each of them.
This tailors a unique narrative experience depending on how players play the game. There are also various PvE and PvP activities sprawled across more than 20 different planets across the galaxy far far away, making for an impressive amount of content for even free-to-play players.
The Lord Of The Rings Online
Yet another movie franchise-based RPG game, Lord Of The Rings Online lets players explore the shared open-world of Middle Earth. There are six different races to choose from in the game; dwarf, elf, high-elf, hobbit, man, and beorning. There is also a wide array of classes and specializations to select from in LOTRO.
The game is an amazing recreation of Tolkien’s books and is available for everyone to dwell and immerse themselves in. Whether a fan of the movies or an MMORPG-head in general, this is definitely a title worth getting into.
EVE Online
EVE Online is a highly complex game with an even more complex yet flourishing community. Taking place in the vastness of space, players engage in countless activities spanning war, politics, pillaging, and trading, with each having its own complex in-and-outs.
Some of the biggest and longest battles in gaming take place in EVE Online. One battle, in particular, the Bloodbath of B-R5RB, took 22 straight hours with nearly 8,000 real-life participants. For a game that costs nothing at all, there’s an incredible amount of content here.
Guild Wars 2
In 2015, Guild Wars 2 went free-to-play, instantly making it one of the best free open-world games. While expansions need to be purchased, the unpaid version of Guild Wars 2 includes plenty of content since it allows players to experience the base game.
There are a couple of restrictions regarding exploration (for instance, free accounts are limited to starter maps until their character reaches level 10), but players can mostly travel Central Tyria to their heart’s content. Guild Wars 2’s expansions are generally worth it, but newcomers can try the free version to see if they want to eventually invest in the game.
Ultima Online: Endless Journey
One of the grandfathers of the MMORPG genre, Ultima Online is primarily a subscription-based game; however, in 2018, Broadsword launched a free version called Endless Journey. While this iteration comes with its share of restrictions that limit the user’s footprint on the world, free players still gain access to a plethora of content, all the way up to 2009’s Stygian Abyss expansion.
Considering it debuted in 1997, Ultima Online is a wildly different beast than modern MMORPGs. Consequently, the title might require some getting used to for people only familiar with post-WoW projects. That said, Ultima Online’s open-world is still among the best in the genre, and the game provides players with more freedom than most other MMOs.
