Digital distribution outlet Steam has introduced free-to-play games to the service. The PC games platform, which is operated by Portal and Half-Life maker Valve, has kicked off proceedings with five "F2P" titles.
[partner id="wireduk"]Those include Global Agenda, a massively multiplayer RPG about oppressive government bods on a frankly depressing 2155 Earth, Champions Online, a superhero-themed MMO from Cryptic, and Alliance of Valiant Arms, a shooty-bang-bang FPS set in war-torn Europe.
There's also Spiral Knights, a co-op blaster with real-time changes to the clockwork world around you, and Forsaken World, a fantasy MMO that couldn't look more like World of Warcraft if it tried.
All of the games are completely free to download and play. If you want, however, you can spend pennies and dollars here and there for "microtransactions," buying virtual doodads, bonus costumes, experience bonuses and other features. It utilizes the same payment system that Valve uses to sell you ludicrously overpriced hats in Team Fortress 2.
Starting Wednesday, Steam will host a "F2P game of the day" event throughout the week, where each game will get a dedicated day with exclusive in-game content for players who try out the new titles. Spiral Knights is the first game to get a special day.
Free-to-play or freemium games have proved enormously popular in some Asia markets, where crazy levels of piracy make full-price titles almost impossible to sell. In the past few years, they've made their way to the West in the form of Facebook titles like FarmVille.
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