Valve, developers of Steam for Mac – an internet-connected game discovery and download platform, have announced support for Free-to-Play games – a model which has become popular with online RPG’s, among other types of games.
F2P is a gaming model that enables people to download and play a game for free, later relying on in-game purchasing and expansion packs, or switching to a subscription model once they have significant user base in order to make their money.
It’s an interesting concept, and I’m kind of happy to see it migrating towards the Mac. Valve’s support for this model will give developers of F2P games more exposure, and introduce their title’s to users that might ordinarily ignore them. Beginning today, Valve is introducing the model by making a new F2P game available every day until Sunday. The first titles available will be Spiral Knights, Forsaken Worlds, Champions Online: Free for All, Global Agenda: Free Agent, and Alliance of Valliant Arms.
It’s likely that Valve is supporting these games by requiring developers to pay them a cut on any purchases or upgrades that a user might make while playing the game, and Valve has announced that each of these games will feature the same micropayment system used by Team Fortress 2.
What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of Free-to-Play games? Are you excited to see Steam bringing more and more games to the Mac? As always, we want to hear from you, so sound off in the comments!
