The free-to-play (or f2p, or freemium, as may suit your fancy) business model has been kicking around the gaming industry for a number of years, but it has never before achieved the level of prominence it enjoys today, and its influence only seems to be trending upward. Major titles including DotA 2, League of Legends, Team Fortress 2, Hawken, MapleStory (whose enduring success over the past several years can probably be considered the f2p gold standard) and the recently f2p-converted Star Wars: The Old Republic and Everquest have all experience varying levels of success by going f2p. While the (admittedly situational-based) financial viability of the model will keep it afloat in gaming for years to come, especially in the MMO genre, there remains a core group of gamers fundamentally opposed to this growing trend. Why? Let’s take a look.
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