The Best MMOs That You Can Play FOR FREE in 2020

Massively Multiplayer Online games, or MMOs for short, are a huge part of video games as a whole. Not only are many of these types of games either ‘free-to-start or free to play entirely, but they often contain hundreds of hours’ worth of quests, content, and trainable skills to sink your teeth into.

Interested in finding out more about some of the video games in this ‘MMO’ category? Want to get involved in one of these different communities, and sink some time into building up an avatar/virtual character? Check out this shortlist of MMOs that you can check out FOR FREE in 2020 – and for the foreseeable future, too!

RuneScape

Alongside the now-defunct Club Penguin, most British kids are familiar from school with the legendary RuneScape, the medieval fantasy multiplayer role-playing game from Cambridge-based Jagex – among the best European game development studios alongside the likes of Abstraction. From woodcutting to archery, to potion-making and mining, this game has an abundance of different skills that you can train up in a satisfying, if-repetitive, way. Sure, there are dangerous quests, dungeons, and battlefields to explore, but if you want to train a relaxing and ‘AFK-able’ skill (away from the keyboard – meaning that you don’t have to pay too much attention to the screen), you can play this game while relaxing and watching TV or films of an evening.

RuneScape is a game that has such a storied history and devout fanbase that it has now been split into two separate games entirely – Traditional RuneScape, known as OSRS (Old-School RuneScape), and normal, modern RuneScape, known as RuneScape 3. In 2020 they are not also available to play on mobile, too, so you can pick up from where you left off on your PC and continue skilling while on the go.

World of Warcraft

Arguably the biggest and greatest MMORPG of all time, Blizzard’s World of Warcraft has seemingly been around forever at this point, and yet consistent updates and expansions keep things fresh for new and existing players alike. World of Warcraft has transcended gaming at this point, permeating the mainstream and making its mark on pop culture for years to come. Not only has the game been parodied by TV shows such as South Park, but there was even a film adaptation in recent years, based on the deep and expansive lore of the general Warcraft series.

If you want to check out World of Warcraft, you can play it absolutely free in a limited capacity by signing up on the official site. Create your character, start exploring, and, if ready, upgrade to progress even further.

Fortnite

Here’s one that you might not have expected on this list, but you’ve definitely heard of – and might even be sick of hearing about, for that matter. While it might not officially be an ‘MMO’ per se, it is massive, it is multiplayer, and it is online. So that counts, right? Plus, it’s worth taking note of and considering if you’re not into the fantasy, RPG element of MMOs, and want to try out a battle royale shooter instead – one that you can play for five minutes or five hours, depending on how much time you’ve got to play.

If you’re new to games, Fortnite is extremely easy to get into, and it’s available on pretty much every platform at this point – so you can pick up and start playing even if you don’t have a traditional console to get going with. It’s completely free on PC, Switch, PS4, Xbox, IOS, and Android. The only thing that you’ll need to pay for, if interested, are cosmetic items for your character to spruce them up a bit, and additional missions and challenges to make things a little bit more interesting when you’re jumping into battle. There’s a singles mode if you want to go solo, but Fortnite is perhaps at its most fun when you ‘squad up’ and go at it in a friend group.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in the gaming world and want to get involved, but don’t necessarily have the nouse or desire to play directly, then not worry. Fortnite is one of the most shared and celebrated games out there currently, and that’s why it’s so popular. Utilizing streaming platforms such as Twitch and Mixer, you can watch pro-players like Ninja and DrLupo, enjoying and commenting on the pro-level play for fun without having to pick up the controller yourself. These sorts of varying ways to enjoy games will continue to develop and flourish throughout the next decade, permeating mainstream culture and getting everyone involved in one way or another. Keep your eyes peeled!