We've all undoubtedly heard of the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV with its expanded free trial. That free trial is getting even more expanded later this year as was announced at Final Fantasy XIV Fan Festival that Stormblood is added to the mix, giving players even more content to play through before they ever have to spend a dime.
While not quite free to play, it makes so much of the MMORPG free for players to enjoy, get invested in the story, and take a journey through the world of Eorzea in a way that likely converts into subscriptions and expansion purchases. However, I wish other MMOs would follow this trend, especially the ones still clinging to a sub-fee as their monetization model.
Games like The Lord of the Rings Online, Neverwinter, and Star Wars: The Old Republic are free to play, giving much of the game for free. Sure, in the case of LotRO and Star Wars, you'll need to either buy the expansions or grab a sub to partake in the later content, respectively. In a sense, their free-to-play models act as an expansive free trial - spend hours on hours in our game, and when you hit that content wall, you'll be more likely to drop some money to continue playing.
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However, games like The Elder Scrolls Online, World of Warcraft, and others still require purchases up front, and in the case of WoW, a sub-fee to get into the meat of the content to play. While WoW can rest on its laurels as one of the largest and most successful MMOs in history, I wonder why more MMOs don't follow Final Fantasy XIV's route - even a game like Final Fantasy XI.
I'd love to see The Elder Scrolls Online drop the price for its earliest content, the original Tamriel Unlimited zones, and quests to get more and more players in there. While it's typically on sale and even available on Game Pass for Xbox players, it's a great collection of content that could see players hooked, continuing on Elswyer, Morrowind, and more.
World of Warcraft might also benefit from expanding its free-to-play access; instead of locking access behind leveling to 20, lock it based on quest progression. Say, getting through to Battle for Azeroth before paying a sub or purchasing an expansion. While we don't know the exact numbers for Blizzard's MMO, we do know Blizzard's MAUs are down for the most part, despite the success of games like Diablo 4 and more. This could be a jolt to bring those MAUs back up over 30 million, maybe?
What about you? Is there an MMO that could benefit from an expanded free trial or even an opening up of the free-to-play model it might already operate under? Hit us up in the comments.
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