It’s been just about 13 years since Digital Extremes first released Warframe. The free-to-play RPG shooter launched on PC on March 25, 2013. IT was followed later on PlayStation 4 in November. Since then, it’s been released on almost every available platform, including Android just last month. The Nintendo Switch 2 version will release on the game’s thirteenth anniversary.

To celebrate the milestone, DE is getting started a bit early, kicking off the anniversary event on March 13 – this Friday. They haven’t provided a ton of details on the event yet, but we do have a general overview. We know the event will last nearly two months, ending in May. We also know that while it’s active, players will be able to take part in special Weekly Alerts, Elite Mode Alert variants, and more. And there will be rewards. Of course, there will also be real-world items up for grabs as well, including all-new merch. More details on the event will be available later in the week.

I’ll admit it. I’d kinda forgotten about Fortnite not being on the Play Store. No, not because I’m an iPhone user… I’m not. I think it’s honestly because we just hadn’t talked about the whole thing in a while. And it does seem like a bigger deal was made about the removal from Apple’s store.

If you’re someone who’s been waiting for the free-to-play battle royale to be made available to Android devices again – particularly since they’ve been back on iOS for a bit now – your wait is just about over. Last week, Epic announced that the company has “settled [its] disputes with Google worldwide”. (Thanks to MassivelyOP for spotting this one.) This includes the US, UK, and Australia. As a result, not only is the game returning, but, as Epic points out, “developers will have choices in how they make payments using Google Play’s payment system and competing payment systems”.

That should make things easier for smaller developers. Of course, I’m sure what Fortnite players will be most excited about is that they’ll finally be able to play the game on their Android devices again.

Path of Exile’s latest update, Mirage, has been live for a few days now, following its launch on Friday. While I know for a fact that players have been making their way through the new content – as I’ve been listening in on a few friends in Discord as they play – it’s not been the smoothest experience. The players had to deal with crashes, and some functions had to be turned off.

Some of the issues were fixed fairly quickly, but if a notice posted on the free-to-play ARPG’s Steam page is any indication, there’s still plenty of work to do. At the time the post was made, the devs noted that they’d already deployed eleven hotfixes. That said, the post outlined several things that were still being worked on at the time. (Note that at the time of this writing, no new update has been put out, so what, if any of the things listed have been fixed, is up for question.

According to the post on the Steam page, the team is working on fixes for things like issues with the Currency Exchange, improving the visibility of certain maps and Caches in Mirages, fixing UI element issues, and more. Those hoping to stay up to date on the issues will want to keep an eye on the game’s forums or Steam page.

New video games are constantly released throughout each calendar month of the year, spanning numerous genres, styles, and themes. However, gaming can often be a costly hobby for many, which means that free-to-play titles are forever popular in the community, especially if they can prove to be impressive and unique experiences. If you’re wondering what new free-to-play titles are releasing throughout the month of March 2026, we’ve rounded up the top contenders to consider trying out. Let’s take a look!

Take a Hint – March 3

Take a Hint is a short but sweet visual novel game experience, released on March 3 as a free-to-play title on Steam. It runs a playtime of approximately an hour, but features a heartfelt story regarding friendship and difficult truths. Specifically, you play as character Delfina, who must convince her best friend that her boyfriend is not good for her. You must choose your words carefully, pick out evidence, and walk that fine line of wanting what is best for someone you care about, without overstepping.

It’s a simple premise, really. But that’s not to say the game is underwhelming. For what it is, Take a Hint delivers a lovely little experience to enjoy while you unwind after a busy day, or as a title to include during a dedicated weekend of cozy gaming. The game also has a very lovely art style, with gorgeous comic and manga influences. If you’re looking to take a quick break and enjoy a nice, relaxing title, Take a Hint is a new option that enables you to achieve this in a one-off session, and for free!

Pirate Ships – March 4

Pirate Ships is a PvP roguelike autobattler, themed around, well...Pirates, of course! From shipbuilding to battles at sea, dangerous duels against monsters, and encounters with enemy pirates and thieves, this turn-based combat involves everything a pirate fan could imagine. You can custom-build your ships, choosing from several different types, and equip them with different weapons, find and collect more parts, and upgrade them to reinforce your skills and defences for battle.

Participate in battles against real players with colorful graphics and a strong stylistic approach. The game has been praised for having a surprising amount of depth for what on the surface appears to be a ‘casual pirate game’, with players noting that there is some grinding involved in the system, but nothing major in comparison to other free-to-play titles. There is quite a lot of build variety, and there’s a relatively generous amount of resources given out through the general questing system and gameplay progression, meaning players have no need to turn towards micro transactions to get ahead of the competition.

Truck Mechanic: Dangerous Paths - First Mile – March 4

Truck Mechanic: Dangerous Paths – First Mile is a simulation game that largely involves driving and fixing trucks. Because of this, it has quite a nice, easygoing, almost cozy and relaxing aspect to it that can appeal to people looking for something that is both free-to-play and can help unwind after a long day. Technically, this copy is a free trial version of the upcoming complete Dangerous Paths game, but there’s enough there to get some hours of enjoyment in First Mile alone.

Players can expect to transport cargo and perform detailed mechanical repairs during their routes – from things as simple as changing tires, to completely pulling apart engine pieces and putting them back together. The game utilizes highly atmospheric environments full of realistic terrains and nature. Players can expect the world around them to adapt with day and night cycles, weather events, and hazards that can take a toll on their truck throughout the journey.

You can also make a pit stop at gas stations or trading spots to find yourself some new jobs along the way, gaining access to even better contracts. Players can then invest the funds they make back into upgrading their truck or even customizing the visual appearance to their liking. Most importantly, though, you are in control of how you reach point A to point B. There are multiple routes and roads that can be taken, and it is completely up to you in which way you decide to go. You can even stop to explore the area if you wish to do so – you may even find something handy along the way!

eBaseball: PRO SPIRIT – March 5

eBaseball: PRO SPIRIT was released on March 5, providing fans of sports games with a new free-to-play PvP baseball option to consider. The game utilizes quality graphics, players from around the world, and the delivery of lifelike motion and sound throughout the stadium. There’s even live play-by-play commentary to help your matches feel alive with that spark, like you’re really there at the arena.

PRO SPIRIT also features realistic graphics through the power of Unreal Engine, meaning hair and skin textures, and even aspects such as the rain and stadium weather effects truly do feel tangible. Players can build their own custom teams of baseball stars and participate against other players in both casual game and tournament-inspired setups. Exhibition mode enables complete customization of rulesets, enabling you to hone your skills and help improve towards climbing up the ladder of rankings.

Seven Deadly Sins: Origin – March 16

Perhaps the most notable title on this list and the biggest free-to-play release happening in March 2026 is Seven Deadly Sins: Origin. This game is inspired by the anime and manga series of the same name, and is set in a huge open-world: Brittania. Players step into the shoes of Prince Tristan of Liones, setting off on a journey to restore order to a world that has been disrupted by chaos caused by a collision of time and space.

Players can uncover the secrets of Brittania through exploration, battle a large variety of intriguing monsters, and assemble a team of characters to battle by your side – both familiar faces from the anime series, as well as new original characters, that is! Every hero has a unique set of abilities, enabling you to completely customize your team composition/loadout to revolve around your favorite personalities or personal playstyle.

The game also features a brand-new original story within the Seven Deadly Sins universe, and contains plenty of activities to do, other than combat. You can discover secret dungeons and explore them in search of treasures or new secrets, stumble upon new locations and characters to befriend, enjoy a range of hobbies such as cooking and fishing, and soar around the sky or waters on various mounts.

In terms of content and replayability, Seven Deadly Sins: Origin is absolutely the way to go if you’re looking for a free-to-play release this March that you can sink a high amount of hours into, and keep returning to time and time again. Who knows what kind of mysterious secrets and vibrant personalities are waiting to meet you in the world of Brittania?

As promised, Grinding Gear Games launched Path of Exile’s latest update, Mirage, today. That means it’s time for players of the free-to-play ARPG to get to work figuring out their new builds based on the game’s latest updates and content – while also experiencing the latest story, of course. The new League sees players working to free the captured souls of Djinn, who will subsequently reward them for their efforts with wishes. These wishes will have an impact on League mechanics.

Unfortunately, the launch hasn’t been completely smooth. Players have been experiencing some crashes, and certain functions have had to be temporarily disabled. That said, the last update states that the stability issues have been resolved, so players should be fine going forward, though there might still be some issues.

If you’d like to keep track of any potential problems, a page for live updates for the Mirage Launch is available on the PoE forums.

Are you going to be in Los Angeles on March 14, and are you planning on playing Netmarble’s open-world anime RPG The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin? If so, then you might want to consider attending a special celebration event the company is hosting prior to the game’s launch.

Between 3 pm and 6 pm Pacific time, the celebration will offer players the opportunity to experience the game, take part in drawings, and more. The event will also feature an official livestream divided into two parts. The first will highlight game features, reveal launch rewards, and more. The second part will take place at L.A. Live and include the 50 Elizabeths. It will also be hosted by influencer LilyPichu.

On an additional note, if you’re planning on playing via PlayStation 5 or Steam, you’ll be able to hop into the game early, starting March 16. The official launch will be on March 23, at which point mobile players can hop in.

The Hexi update is live in Where Winds Meet, introducing a new region and stories based in the past for players of the free-to-play open-world Wuxia game to experience. During their explorations, which begin in the desert, players will pick up new mystic skills, including one that allows them to swim over the sands as a fish. The update also introduces new appearance sets and other rewards for players as they explore and see history through the eyes of those who lived it.

The new region will also introduce new bosses, including the Wandering Ark world boss – a living ancient vessel wandering across the desert sands. Defeating the boss will earn players all kinds of rewards.

As for the main story, follow the path of an old man as he attempts to return home while things are falling apart around him. And don’t forget to interact with side quests along the way.

Patch notes on the Where Winds Meet Steam page detail these features as well as new martial arts, campaigns, and more.

If you were one of the folks who played the Crystalfall demo during Steam Next Fest and wanted more, you’re not going to have to wait long. Today, CRG Studios announced that the free-to-play ARPG will be entering Steam Early Access on March 20.

While it appears Early Access will still not be the complete game, it will offer more than the demo. Players will be able to experience five acts rather than one, as well as the early stages of endgame, in-game trading, and leaderboards. Early access will also feature localization in eleven languages.

During the demo, the devs were taking feedback from players and were continuing to work on the game. They state they’re prioritizing game mechanics. They also note that while they would like to fulfill the wish for WASD and controller support, that will not be happening for Early Access, as they don’t want to just throw it in without working on it properly

Prior to Early Access, CRG is running a pre-registration campaign. As the game has been wishlisted 100,000 times, they’re granting players who pre-register via the website three “LAVA” theme rewards. If the game hits 150K on the wishlist mark, it will unlock a fourth item in the set. Details are available in the announcement on the game’s Steam page.

Today, Nexon announced a One-Punch Man collaboration event in MapleStory. The event begins on March 18, bringing a new adventure to the free-to-play MMORPG. One-Punch Man’s main protagonist, Saitama, will visit the game’s world as part of an original storyline. During the event, players will be able to take on special missions using skills unique to the event. And yes, there will be One-Punch Man-themed rewards.

Prior to the event, Nexon will be rolling out details on the game’s website. This included details about the event content as well as the related rewards. We do know that players will actually play as Saitama, rather than having him appear as an NPC – at least in portions of the event.

According to the press release, this event will be followed by more collaborations in the future. So players will want to keep an eye out for those.

A new World of Tanks: HEAT “Foundations” video dropped today. Titled “Human-Machine Synergy”, the video explains how the free-to-play war shooter's Agents work together with their tanks. As explained in the video, Agents can command up to two specialized tanks, and each of these tanks have their own abilities. Some of the examples given are Hound’s AMG Tank launching drones while his Leo tank is capable of projecting a decoy.

At the same time, the agents all have their own set of abilities, and each Agent fills one of three roles: Defender, Assault, and Marksman. The first handles the frontline and soaks up damage. The second uses speed to deal with enemies before they can respond. The third eliminates enemies from a distance.

Agents also use unique ultimates in combat. The video delves into these a bit, highlighting Kent’s “Contracted Strikes using 'Hydra' rockets, Hound’s "Hunting Time” which uses guided missiles, and Chopper’s “Creeping Barrage”.

If you missed the memo, Nexon announced a Closed Alpha Test date for its upcoming zombie survival game Nakwon: Last Paradise last week. The game, set in Seoul, Korea, casts players in the role of survivors following a zombie apocalypse. It’s not exactly a new theme. But classics are classics for a reason.

Today, the dev team offered players a look at the game’s themes with a special Closed Alpha Test trailer. It shows you just how dangerous things can be as humans and zombies alike eliminate each other. It’s a real, every person (or undead person) for themselves kind of situation, and it all starts with a zombie contemplating a can of processed meat.

As noted in the previous post, the test will begin on March 11. Signups are open now. So if you want in, hit up the Steam page.

A new Eye on Arkesia dropped today, bringing players information on what’s happening in Lost Ark throughout March. The big news is the launch of the Ends of the Abyss update on March 11 and Paradise Season 3. The update marks the end of the MMORPG's Kazeros storyline. The story picks up after the last cutscene in Kazeros’ Denowment. To make the finale as epic as possible, the devs have included extended cinematics and enhanced music and sound design.

On the topic of the new season, new legacy effects are being introduced. Just in case players need more encouragement to participate. Some details on the Season 3 changes can be found in a post from earlier this week. The update also brings the balance patch recently released in Korea to the West. That means players around the globe can experience the new class adjustments and rebalanced combat.

In addition, players can expect changes to Guardian Raids based on their feedback. Specifically, Kazeros Raid Act 4 and Kazeros Denouement: Final Day have been reworked.

Where Winds Meet’s first big expansion is releasing in just two days. The dream-themed update that will offer players of the free-to-play Wuxia MMORPG a window into the past – allowing them to see it through the eyes of those who lived it – was announced last week. During a dev stream, Everstone Studios gave us a glimpse into “Hexi” (both the name of the update and where we will be going).

We were offered a chance to get a look at the new content ahead of time so we could share some of it with you. Before we start, I should note that what I was playing was still a test version and not the launch version. That means some things I talk about here may be changed or fixed when the update goes live.

The preview was set up right at the entrance to the dream world, which happens to be an unfinished scroll. Upon looking at it, it takes you immediately to the first of three areas that will roll out over time, an expansive desert. If you caught the dev stream, you know that you’ll be experiencing the story of an old man trying to deliver a sack. It would be misleading to say that you play as this man the entire time. Rather, you move in and out of his story, sometimes running into other inhabitants of the desert. And, of course, there are plenty of side activities that can easily distract you, such as collectibles.

There are quite a few new collectibles scattered throughout the desert. Some are strange creatures you’ll need to chase down. Others you’ll need to keep an ear out for… bells in the desert will lead you to the remains of camels and the treasure they hold. And, of course, as one of the focuses of this update is a moon that hangs in the sky no matter the time of day, teasing the way home for each of the characters, there are moon-related items to be gathered as well.

Why bother with this strange dream journey? Because you were told you may find answers – not just about history long-past, but answers that are relevant to your own journey.

I’ve no intention of spoiling the story for you. It’s a great experience that knows how to hit you in the feels. But that’s honestly been true about a lot of Where Winds Meet.

It’s paced in a way that allows you to explore as you wish and not feel like you’re delaying completing the main story content. In all open-world RPGs, it’s easy to get sidetracked by another quest or activity. But, very often, when I do that, it can feel like I’m ignoring the important thing – like now is not a good time to be doing the side thing. And in many games, the pacing is such that it never feels like the right time to be doing the side thing. This isn’t the case here, where the side story I ended up being distracted by only added to the main story I’d been working on. This history in a dream feels very alive and real, and more than a little sad.

Exploring the first area in the Hexi update is going to be a bit different from the previous zones. If you’ve ever spent time in a desert, you probably have some idea of what I mean. While the other zones have plenty in the way of landmarks: roads, villages, lakes, and rivers…, the desert region of Hexi features large swaths of golden sand dunes. That’s not to say that it’s all just sand. Some areas have sparse fields of grass-like vegetation, and there are villages and other structures. Although some of that may turn out to be a mirage. The point is, it can be a little difficult to find your way.

Of course, there are markers on the mini-map, and the quests will (mostly) point you in the right direction. (Sometimes the quest obviously wants you to feel lost so you get text directions, but no marker.) The other good news, navigation-wise, is that there’s a kind of magical road in the sand. It’s not a road in the real sense, but more like a painting on the sand. This sand works with a bit of magic that allows players to turn into a giant fish. Admittedly, you can do this anywhere in the desert, but you’ll move faster as the fish when following the road. And, yes, there’s still a mount. Your horse has been replaced by a camel. Totally desert appropriate.

As far as combat goes, the dev team was nice enough to provide us with the latest skills for the umbrella and rope dart weapons. Both are fun, but I think the umbrella skill is my favorite. There’s something amusing about standing on the handle of an umbrella as it spins like a top, dealing damage to anything in range. It would also make a fun form of transportation, although I haven’t gotten it to last long enough for that to be viable.

I did try my hand at one of the bosses shown in the livestream – the general. While there is a mechanic at the end that I haven’t quite figured out how to avoid yet (I gave it two tries just to see), the bulk of the fight is not all that difficult. Of course, that may be due to me playing using a character crafted for this particular experience. I have a feeling that if I brought my own to the fight, I might suffer a bit more.

The update definitely expands on the things that make Where Winds Meet a great game. The story’s gripping, and the combat is fun. In that same vein, it appears that some of the issues the game has seem to be sticking around – for instance, a glitch where the player character swaps between the male and female voices on occasion. That’s been a thing since launch, and is honestly something I’ve chosen to look past before. Still, it’s something I hope can be fixed in the future, because it can kind of throw you out of the immersion a bit. As noted above, what I was playing was a test version, so perhaps it’s already fixed.

Recently, Gaijin Entertainment announced the next War Thunder update, “Ninth Wave”. This update, due in “mid-March,” will introduce Rank IX jets, the “most modern generation of 4+ aircraft” to the free-to-play war shooter. This includes the F/A-18F and the Su-30SM2. The former is a two-seat modification of a fighter-bomber armed with quite a few AMRAAM radar-homing missiles.

On the topic of new aircraft, players can expect Hungarian combat aircraft to be added to the Italian aviation research tree. The first of these will be the Héja I and II fighters based on the Reggiane Re 2000 monoplane. The Héja I boasts an 8mm steel backplate – meaning it will be heavier but more difficult to take down. The Héja features a new propeller-engine system, and Hungarian Gebauer 1940.M GKM heavy machine guns.

In addition to the new plane, the Ninth Wave update also features redesigns of certain maps, such as White Rock Fortress and Ardennes. Both were more-or-less rebuilt from the ground up to meet modern graphic standards. That said, experienced players should have no difficulty navigating them.

Today, Wildlight Entertainment announced that it would be shuttering Highguard, the free-to-play shooter that launched at the end of January. That’s probably not going to surprise those who have been paying attention to the game, considering the game’s general reception and the fact that they announced layoffs of all but a “core group of developers” about two weeks after launch. But it’s still sad, for the devs and for the players who were enjoying the game.

The closure was announced this afternoon via the game’s official Twitter account, where they gave a final operation date of March 12. The post goes on to explain that “despite the passion and hard work” of the team, they haven’t been able to maintain enough players to “support the game long term”.

While the post mentions 2M players having tried the game, that is over the course of the last month and a half. As for active players, Steam DB put the all-time peak at a little over 97K. Since then, the consecutive player mark has dwindled to under 500, and in some cases, less than 150. Even a free-to-play game needs players to spend money to survive, and the ones spending are going to be fewer than the overall player count. So you can see where the problem lies.

Before the game is shuttered, the dev team has decided to release a last batch of content for players to share what they’ve been working on. This will include a new Warden, a new weapon, skill trees, and more. Patch notes will be available at a later date.

Today, the Apex Legends team announced what is arguably one of the cooler video-game crossover events – particularly if you’re a Gundam fan. The Apex Legends x Gundam Event brings Gundam-inspired combat to the free-to-play team shooter, even changing the Broken Moon map into a full Gundam battlefield complete with giant statues, destroyed Mobile Suits, and ships fighting overhead.

Players can pick up skins for eight of the game’s characters. These include a Gundam Epyon skin for Alter, a Freedom Gundam skin for Crypto, and a Wing Gundam Zero skin for Valkyrie. Conduit, Gibby, Mirage, Octane, and Revenant are also getting their own skins. Beyond that, there are eight weapon skins, including the “Buster Rifle” Kraber skin.

New Gundam-themed Wild Cards are being introduced to the game as well. Epyon’s Lash will introduce a magnetic melee pull ability while Zero Sacrifice triggers a self-destruct explosion on death. More details on each of these and more can be found on the Apex Legends site.

Players have been battling in giant mechs for about a year now in My.Games' free-to-play shooter War Robots: Frontiers. Of course, the developer is celebrating this milestone in-game with events and goodies.

First off, starting today and running through March 17, players will be able to take advantage of the limited-time Infinite Fuel modifier in Unranked rotation. This means all War Robots players will have unlimited access to boosts, dashes, and aerial movement. As a result, things are going to get interesting, as players will be able to chain movement abilities, take advantage of vertical space, maintain aerial combat for longer, and more.

Next up, the devs have decided to open the Anniversary Vault as well as kick off the Battle Bonus event players have been asking for. This means players have a chance to earn some of the pilots and skins that were only available one time. The Vault also introduces three special items created just for the Anniversary, including a Special Edition Anniversary Pilot – the former Grav Racing champion Bruno Lantoni. The event runs through March 11, so players looking to add to their collections will want to take part as soon as possible.

If you missed it, Little Orbit’s 5v5 MOBA Stonehold kicked off open beta testing last week – something we discovered thanks to MassivelyOP. The last time the game crossed our radar was when it was announced a few months back.

<p>The test is open to players globally via Steam and will be focused on gameplay and player feedback. As the game combines MOBA and card-based mechanics, there’s probably quite a bit to focus on.

During the test, players will be able to experience full matches and the game’s core systems. This includes learning the card mechanics and trying out Wardens. During the test, several content creators will be streaming the game. The devs suggest watching them to learn strategies and just generally more about the game.

Over the weekend, Gryphline dropped a Dev Log video on YouTube, detailing the upcoming update for Arknights: Enfield. The update will introduce the factory-sim action RPG’s next batch of story content and two new Operators. (If you’ve been wanting to add Tangtang or Rossi to your team, you’re in luck.) It also brings with it a lot of feature improvements that will definitely fix those little annoyances.

The first 10 minutes of the 40-minute video are spent discussing the various changes and optimizations. For instance, when the update drops, PC players will be able to leave the top-down view at the AIC by hitting Esc or Caps Lock. That’s great for me, since I always hit Esc to leave, only to have it not work. Another great change is that once the recycling hubs are completely leveled, players will be able to collect from them remotely. No more making a long trip to that one remote hub. Character acquisition has been optimized, as has how the various facilities on the Dijaing work. And that’s only some of the changes.

As mentioned above, the new update will make the characters Tangtang and Rossi playable. Both will be accompanied by their signature weapons. And, new gear piece packs are being introduced as well. Rossi will also be featured in her own character quest.

As for the main questline, the Qingbo Stockade is under threat. That means Endfield will need to step up and help out Tangtang and her people. It also means Qingbo Stockade will be a new, explorable region.

Players can expect plenty of events – one of which seems to be the Endfield version of Power Wash Simulator. Details on the events and changes are available in the video below.

A new update dropped in RuneScape today, continuing Jagex’s plan to modernize the free-to-play MMORPG. Today’s update focuses on modernizing the game’s combat, making it “more intuitive and easier to learn” and creating a “simpler, but deeper, harmony between abilities.

One of a series of updates Jagex plans to implement throughout RuneScape’s 25 th Anniversary year, the Combat Modernization update is the result of running betas over the last three months, where they modified the power of player abilities, corrected timing, and implemented changes in other areas. The update follows previous Road to Restoration updates, including an improved UI and the rebalancing of the early game experience.

This won’t be the final update in this project. Jagex has already announced an update dropping later this month that will remove a lot of the daily activities players see as “chore-like”. Later in the year, players can also expect an update that will introduce changes to the surface world intended to bring “unity to the in-game environment”, as well as a visual overhaul for player characters. And, sometime in the Spring, RuneMetrics will be made available to everyone for free.

Since Steam Next Fest has been underway this past week, I’m sure we’ve all picked out a game or two to give a shot. Of course, there are so many demos available during this event to check out, and only so much time. If you’ll remember, before Next Fest began, we shared a list of some of the free-to-play games that would be offering demos with you. I decided to give one of these games, Crystalfall, a go. It’s been a while since I’ve played an ARPG, so I figured it’d be a good one to try.

I played through the entirety of the available demo, which consisted of the game’s first zone. According to Steam, that’s about 12 hours of gameplay. But I’m sure I wandered off to get drinks or something at some point. So let’s just say it probably took me about 10 hours to complete the available storyline.

When starting the game, you have three class choices: Technomancer, Rogue, and Knight. The first is a caster class. The second is ranged DPS, using guns of various types. The last is for those of us who enjoy smacking things in the face with sharp (or heavy) weapons. Interestingly, at least for the moment, these class choices also determine your race and gender. Technomancer is a female bird-person, Rogue is a female fox, and the Knight is a male lion.

Players can slowly adjust their character’s class a bit using an expansive skill tree. By the time I ended the demo, I only managed to unlock about 13 nodes on the tree. None of those were ones I could put a glyph socket into – although I was pretty close.

I chose to play the melee class. Right away, there were plenty of options for weapons. The melee can wield both one-handed and two-handed weapons. Swords, shields, axes, maces, and the like are all available. Each class also has two weapon setups they can switch between on the fly.

Each weapon type works with its own skill set. Some of these will overlap. However, say you have an axe for your two-handed weapon and a sword and shield as your other setup. They’ll only use some of the same abilities, and others will only work with one weapon type. This means players will want to be very deliberate with their hotbar setup – particularly because there are five spots to work with.

As with many APRGs of this type, your adventure begins with your character in captivity. In this case, you’re in an arena and being forced to fight. The plan, for your captors, at least, is not for you to win your freedom. It’s simply for you to fight until you die. That is, of course, not your idea of a good time, and you fight until you can escape – onto an island filled with armed machines, rat-people, and overpowered spiders. You know. The usual.

You make your way to the port seeking a way off the island and are first given a few tasks you’ll need to complete as compensation for the trip. Not the least of these is rescuing someone from the prison, a task that requires completing a few other tasks (and gaining several levels and equipment) in order to complete.

Oh. Yes. And a lot of back and forth to the main hub to clear out your inventory, repair gear, and the like.

Speaking of gear, I’m afraid I didn’t get to play with it all that much. I managed to hit level 16 just a bit before ending the story, and had only obtained one piece of gear that allowed you to embed items that increased stats. I can say that I didn’t ever feel like my gear was holding me back. But – at least this early in the game – it also didn’t make things too easy.

That said, I’m one of those players who clear entire areas before moving to the next, so I was leveling pretty well until the last part, where I was simply trying to get off the island for the sake of this piece. Once I started doing that, I began dying more frequently. Complete carelessness on my part.

The game has an easy-to-understand crafting and fusion system. So, once players reach a point in the game where that’s actually necessary, it shouldn’t be a problem – particularly for those who play these kinds of games on the regular. Pretty much everything can be modified, or if not needed, broken down into more useful items. That includes skills as well as gear. Of course, since everything has its own system, there are lots of different items to fill the player’s inventory and stash.

Starting out, players have exactly one tab of each to work with. The inventory has 54 slots, and the stash has 126. As the shop was obviously not available in the demo, I can’t say for sure what obtaining more tabs looks like. But I’m sure that at least some will be acquired that way. A free-to-play game has to make money somehow. I also figure players will be able to obtain another tab or two through gameplay.

Overall, as I’m sure you can tell from this piece, Crystalfall doesn’t break the mold of the ARPG space. That said, I don’t think it needs to. Folks who like this genre want to play this genre. And unlike a lot of games out there bearing a long string of descriptors, Crystfall seems to know exactly what it is.

It’s not fast-paced, at least starting out. I imagine that as players progress and unlock more of the talent tree and min-max their builds, they’ll be able to do some crazy things. That is kind of the point of these loot-driven hack-and-slash ARPGs.

As far as the “RPG” portion of “ARPG” goes. I can’t really attest to that, only having experienced the first island. It’s very obvious there’s a story there. But as this is more or less the tutorial space, you’re not getting that yet.

For those who are just getting into the genre, Crystalfall might be a good fit. With very few exceptions, most everything in the beginning game is straightforward. Honestly, the only thing that caused me any confusion was figuring out how to get the overlay map to show up.

Did I enjoy it? I wouldn’t spend 10 hours in any game I’m not enjoying.

Today, Stonehollow Workshop announced Eterspire’s next update, coming on March 2. In addition to introducing new mechanics and combat to the MMORPG, a big highlight of the update will be the optimization. In fact, it’s the first thing they pointed out in the press release, with the game’s creative director stating that “Eterspire no longer runs like crap!”.

Noting that the game “has had issues in the past”, the press release goes on to state that the dev team has been working to optimize the game for mobile devices, including lower-end ones. As a result, it now runs more smoothly, with less lag, faster map loading, and more.

As for the new content, a new combat mechanic is being introduced in which enemies can become enraged when gaining aggro, increasing their health, dealing more damage, and kicking off AoE attacks. The new mechanic will require players to stay on their toes.

Players will be able to explore a new region featuring four new maps, each intended for players between levels 130 and 160. There, they’ll find a new sidequest to take on and a new Remnant: the Canyon Golem, to fight.

Today, during Devstream 193, the Warframe devs dropped two big pieces of news. The first was the game’s next big update, titled “The Shadowgrapher”. When the update drops on March 25, it will not only introduce new content to the game but also several changes intended to improve quality of life.

Players can expect a new 4v1 asymmetric survival horror match game mode, Follie’s Hunt. A team of four players must evade the ‘hunter’ Follie, who also happens to be the MMO shooter’s latest Warframe, as they work to complete unfinished paintings in the ruins of the Vesper Relay. This requires looking for pools of colored ink and applying it to the canvases.

Don’t be too surprised by the activity. Follie is a paint – or ink-themed Warframe. They can enter an ink canvas and, upon leaving it, use the ink to debuff enemies. Follie players will also be able to customize a sketchbook before battle to give themselves a tactical advantage. They can even summon an ink doppleganger to take damage for them.

The other big bit of news in today’s livestream is that the game will be releasing on the Nintendo Switch 2 on the same day as The Shadowgrapher update. The game has been optimized for the platform with 60FPS and 1080p resolution. This applies to both handheld and docked modes for the console. Players who log into Warframe on the console between March 25 and April 15 will earn an exclusive pack that includes the Vecicres Warfan weapon, the Akomeogi Warfan weapon skin, a Slicing Feathers Stance mod, and more.

Bitcraft Online is another of those games that is buy-to-play right now, but will eventually be free-to-play… when it officially launches, that is. Today, we’re a step closer to that moment. The game is still in Early access, but Clockwork Labs dropped a patch that takes the MMORPG into what they’ve dubbed “Early Access 2”. This new phase includes new features and changes. It also cuts the current cost of entry in half. Well, technically, more than that.

During the first phase of Early Access, Bitcraft ran $30. Now, it’s $16. But the game is currently on sale at 50% off, so that knocks it down to $8. That’s getting closer to free.

As for what players can expect from the recent update, the patch notes indicate that new quests have been added for onboarding, introducing professions and skills. New Storehouse Settlement Structures have been added, as has a new Barter quest. There’s also a new quest for players who skipped the tutorial that will help them earn XP from the previous world.

Changes have been made to gameplay as well. For example, rather than requiring Hexite Shards, Empires can now use a Hexite Energy Item that can be obtained via gameplay. The Experience Curve and Tool Power have been rebalanced. And certain emotes are no longer available by default. A full rundown of additions and changes can be found in the game’s patch notes.

Where Winds Meet will soon be getting its largest expansion since the free-to-play open-world Wuxia game launched. Titled Hexi, the expansion will roll out in three phases beginning on March 6. Each phase will introduce a unique new zone, beginning with a vast desert. The second zone will take players to snow-capped mountains. The third will be grasslands. All of these zones are in a dream that takes players on a journey through history.

As this expansion is a dream, it will function like one, showing players history through the eyes of those who lived it. In a special livestream this evening, the Where Winds Meet team offers players a look at the new area, explaining the inspiration behind it and how it ties into the rest of the game.

In addition to the new zones, players can expect new fighting styles for two of the weapons, plenty of puzzles, lots of side quests, and more. The dev team has also put together quite a few gifts for players as well.

The stream can be viewed in full below. Also, there is a redemption code: HEXI0306.

As promised, Grinding Gear Games revealed the content of Path of Exile’s Mirage update today during GGG Live. In the update dropping on PC and console on March 6, players will help the Maraketh Sekhema fight a rogue sect of the Faridun known as the Afarud and free her Djinn from their slavery.

The Afarud are the worst of the Faridun and have formed a pact with the necromancer Saresh. They are trying to control the power of the Djin and use it in a war against the Maraketh. Luckily, players will have help in dealing with the group, as the Sekhema mentioned above, Varashta, will be there to assist. In exchange, players will be granted wishes for their aid.

Mirage introduces a new Challenge League to the free-to-play ARPG. During this League, players will encounter the souls of Djinn trapped by the Afarud. Setting them free will require players to enter a mirage of the Djinn project and fight their way through to the tether, keeping them trapped. As a reward, players are then able to choose a wish, which seems to come in several varieties.

Another task players will take on during Mirage is to restore Maraketh artefacts stolen by the Afarud. The items have been changed over time with Afarud magic. Players can choose to repair them or use them as is if their current state is of more use.

A full rundown of the features of the new League is available in the Content Reveal video below.

Riot Games has undergone two rounds of layoffs in the last few weeks. In the first, the League of Legends developer laid off approximately 80 members of staff working on the LoL-themed fighting game 2XKO. That’s around half the game’s staff. According to the game’s executive producer, Tom Cannon, that particular set of layoffs was due to the game not achieving the right “momentum”. To put it plainly, some players are super invested, but there are not enough players.

The second set of layoffs occurred more recently and was confirmed to Game Developer by a company spokesperson. This set is smaller but more widespread, affecting about 12 individuals across three publishing teams.

With the total number of individuals let go sitting at around 100, these aren’t the worst numbers we’ve seen when it comes to layoffs. That said, it’s not great when those numbers make up half of a game’s development team.

As always, we wish the best for those affected and hope that Riot is helping them with the transition.

The wait for the Neverness to Everness launch date is over. Last night, Hotta Studio announced that the free-to-play open-world urban action game will be launching globally on April 29. The game will release on PC, Android, iOS, PlayStation 5, and Mac at the same time and include full cross-platform support. For those wondering, the PC version will be through the game’s official launcher. There’s still no news of a Steam or EGS version.

Currently, Hotta is running pre-registration and offering rewards when they hit specific milestones. So far, over 25 million players have pre-registered, unlocking three of the milestone items. At 30 million, players will receive a free character. The company is also offering a free glider skin to all players if they manage to hit a total of 5 million followers across their social media accounts.

While we’ve known that Nexon planned to host a closed alpha test in March for its upcoming zombie survival game Nakwon: Last Paradise for a little while now, we didn’t know the precise dates. That’s changed as of now. Nexon has officially announced that the test will be open to select players from March 11 through March 16.

Registration for the test has been available on Steam since February 11. But if you haven’t registered yet and would like to, you still have time. In fact, it won’t end until March 15, which means you can register while the test is taking place. That, of course, does not mean you’re guaranteed to be accepted, and it’s probably best to sign up before that.

The test is open to players in North America, parts of South America, and parts of East Asia. If you took part in the pre-alpha test, you’re already guaranteed entrance. This includes pre-alpha participants from other regions, although the devs warn that matchmaking may be delayed or unavailable for some of these players, depending on the network. Supported languages for the test include English, Korean, and both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Also note that there’s no NDA, so streaming and other coverage are allowed.

If you’re not sure your PC can run the game, Nexon has provided system requirements in the announcement on the game’s Steam page.

With all the changes that Jagex is implementing in RuneScape, they’re taking a look at the game’s various membership models – particularly the Premier model. While the game is free-to-play, it offers players the opportunity to subscribe at different levels and receive various benefits based on those subscriptions. With all the changes they’ve been making to the game lately, they’ve determined that some of the existing subscription benefits no longer make sense. So, they’ve laid out their plans to adjust things in a post on the MMORPG’s site.

According to the post, one of those changes will be the closing of the Loyalty Store, which, as they put it, “has been in an odd position for many years”. The team has determined that continuing to keep it takes resources away from the game. In addition, the Loyalty System time-gates content, and they want to move away from that. Auras are being removed as well, so there’s no reason to keep the store around, and it will be closed in April. Cosmetics from the store will be moved to the Free Monthly Marketplace Drop cycles.

Another change will be that players will no longer have to buy into boss instances. This won’t be an immediate change. The post states it will be “later this year”. In addition, VIP Worlds will become accessible to all members. The hope is to reduce the splitting of the playerbase and give everyone the opportunity to meet more players. Monthly Drops and Premier Tokens will be removed as well.

This doesn’t mean that Premier is going away completely, although it’s being rebranded to the “12 Month Membership. The post goes on to discuss what players will be receiving for their continued subscription. In November, they’ll add more new cosmetic items to the yearly cosmetic refresh. The 12 Month Memberships will still include multiple months of free Membership Value and 100 Bank Spaces.

By now, you probably know the story of Highguard: picked by Geoff Keighley to be the final trailer shown at The Game Awards in December, launching to subpar reviews and player numbers, and now likely on its last legs. The team at Wildlight Entertainment – what’s left of it, at least – is now wondering if it can turn things around, and if not, when will the final hammer fall?

We’ve still got 10 months to go in 2026, but for now, Highguard – a relatively minor game in the grand scheme of it all – is set to go down as the year’s biggest flop so far. How did it all go so wrong, and what, if anything, could Wildlight have done differently?

Commanding data

First, let’s look at the numbers, which don’t paint a pretty picture. Steam Charts’ trend is firmly downwards from the game’s launch one month ago, where it peaked at 15,147 concurrent players. By itself, even that’s a so-so number for a free-to-play game. It currently averages less than 1,000 players at any given time.

Apex Legends, which was considered Highguard’s closest comparison, launched on Steam to an average of 74,957 players and a peak of 117,193 in November 2020. Admittedly, that was nearly two years after its stealth launch, but it’s fair to say that it pulled in much better than 15,000 concurrent players upon its debut in early 2019.

One thing to keep in mind is that a significant number of players likely only paid attention to the game because of its premium slot on The Game Awards. Whether they liked it or not, or were just there to play for a few minutes before leaving a negative review, the game’s profile was undoubtedly bolstered by Keighley, and the numbers would have been much lower without him.

Speaking of reviews, the question of review-bombing has been high on people’s minds and sometimes blamed for the game’s (unfairly) poor reception. As it currently stands, the game has a 46% positive rating on Steam (counting only English reviews; 45% counting all languages), but that might be deceptive. As this article pointed out, its numbers aren’t as bad when players give it a chance.

However, I feel like it’s a little too generous, counting only reviews from players who have played at least five hours. I don’t typically need that much time to decide if a game is right for me. If I have played it that long – especially if it's a match-based PvP shooter, which would amount to a dozen or so matches – then I probably like the game, so the five-hour limit somewhat amounts to a kind of survivor bias.

As I write this today, February 25, 2026, here are the positive reviews for various hour breaks, counting all languages:

0 hours (all reviews): 45% on 39,496 reviews
1 hour: 59% on 26,496 reviews
2 hours: 73% on 17,191 reviews
3 hours: 79% on 12,889 reviews
4 hours: 81% on 9,915 reviews
5 hours: 82% on 7,754 reviews
8 hours: 83% on 4,393 reviews
10 hours: 82% on 3,258 reviews

That paints a rosier picture, for sure, with the game managing about an 80% positive rating among players who have given it a solid chance.

Also, since a lot of review-bombing likely took place during the game’s initial rollout, here’s a look at how the reviews stack up over various time breaks since launch:

First week: 41% on 31,120 reviews
Second week: 67% on 3,119 reviews
Third week: 60% on 1,214 reviews
Fourth week: 58% on 736 reviews
Fifth week (so far): 65% on 160 reviews

That’s less positive, but at least it confirms that the worst of the damage was done early.

Now the bad news: This still isn’t good enough for the kind of game Highguard is. While 80% is the breakpoint between “Mixed” and “Very Positive” on Steam, it’s really only average, at best.

Many years ago, when Steam Spy was a thing, its caretaker pointed out that 82% was the median review score on Steam. That meant that half of all games were above 82%, and half were below it. Therefore, a game rated at 80% was actually in the bottom half of games; there were more games that were reviewed higher than reviewed lower.

The more recent “Review Score Distribution” chart on this page seems to roughly corroborate that finding, with roughly half of all games on each side of 80%.

Think of it like having games on your Steam wishlist or in your library. They’re all “good,” in the sense that you want to play them, but you likely don’t have time to get to them all. So you play the games you like better and rarely, if ever, get to the games at the bottom of your list.

That’s the same thing with an 80%-level game. It’s fine, you like it, and it may even be objectively “good,” but there are things you like better. That’s the fate of many a good-but-not-great game.

Take another look at the by-hour positive ratings above. Among players who like the game at an 80% clip (3+ hours), only 3,258/12,889 = 25% have played it for a full 10 hours or more. That means three out of four people who actually like the game haven’t even played for 10 hours. How many games have you played for more than 10 hours in the last month? Quite a few, I’d imagine, and that means they’re better (to you) than Highguard.

Highguard may have been well-liked by a subset of people, but was it good enough to tear them away from Apex Legends, Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortnite, or whatever extraction/hero shooter or even MMORPG they play on a regular basis? The answer seems to be “no.”

The path backwards

So what could Wildlight Entertainment have done to prevent this situation? The obvious answer is “make the game better,” but that’s only one part of it, and a subjective one at that.

Should they have refused Geoff Keighley’s offer to put the trailer at the end of The Game Awards? As I mentioned previously, Highguard likely only got as many initial players as it did due to that exposure, and if that wasn’t enough to keep the lights on (as it appears it isn’t), then having half or even fewer players wouldn’t have accomplished that either.

The key mistake, I think, was in not making the most of the gift that they stumbled into. In the seven weeks between the Game Awards and Highguard’s launch, we heard virtually nothing about the game. A savvy team would have had marketing materials ready to go as soon as the trailer dropped, or at least the day after The Game Awards. Normally, that would have been to follow up on the big announcement, but in this case, the plan would have been at least partially to do damage control in the wake of the public backlash.

At the very least, the team should have recognized in the intervening time that the public perception of Highguard was not very good and worked to correct that. Instead, as the game’s YouTube channel shows, there was nothing posted between the initial trailer and launch, after which a slew of videos highlighting gameplay, developer vision, and individual elements were thrust out into the wild.

By that time, though, people preferred to play the game and form their own opinions, for good or ill, rather than watch videos about it. The devs had lost the right to shape the narrative, letting negative feelings stew for nearly two months and doing nothing to counter them. They pinned all their hopes on the game standing on its own – likely due to a culture of toxic positivity – and squandered any chance they might at developing good will.

We’re all tired of countless teasers, trailers, hype videos, dev diaries, and marketing in general for games that are months or years away, but Highguard is a picture-perfect case where more marketing and hype were desperately needed. The fact that they had all those videos ready to go at launch makes their decision to hold back even more baffling. Maybe it wouldn’t have mattered – maybe the game just wasn’t ready and should have launched seven months instead of seven weeks after The Game Awards – but it couldn’t have hurt. Now it’s probably too late.

Today, Netmarble dropped a new update for its free-to-play dark fantasy MMORPG RAVEN2, introducing new story and world content for players to attempt. The big feature of this update, however, is the newly-launched “Burning” limited-time boost server.

The server will be available for “several months”. During that time, players will be able to quickly level characters and receive rewards for it. After about two months on the server, players will be transferred to other servers.

It should be noted that the press release only states the time that can be spent on the server, rather than how high they’ll level before being moved. So, players will probably want to do their best to take advantage of their time there.

As for the rewards, at Level 5, players will receive a Heroic Holy Garment and a Heroic Familiar. At Level 60, they’ll earn a Legendary Holy Garment. Other rewards, including different items and EXP support, will be given out at different milestones.

In addition, players will be able to earn BURNING Summon Chests by completing daily missions. These chests offer different rewards as well.

Dungeons & Dragons Online is celebrating its 20th, or as they’re calling it the “Natural 20” anniversary. Aside from the usual goodies and general activities typically associated with an MMORPG’s anniversary, the DDO team is doing a few special things.

First, they’re introducing a special 20th Anniversary quest titled “Time Flies”. This quest can be picked up from the NPC Sariyon Dran-dal on the Anniversary Island, which is accessible by speaking to Fred in House Jorasco or House Phiarlan. As you can guess from the quest title, it plays with time a little bit. Things have gone a bit wobbly, and it’s up to the players to fix it. As a result of this, every time players enter the dungeon, they’ll be randomly given one of seven different possible encounters.

The good news is players will want to make the run more than once because completing the dungeon earns them Time Fragments. The number of Time Fragments is dependent upon the highest group member's level as well as the difficulty level of the dungeon being attempted. The higher the difficulty and the lower the member level, the more fragments players will earn.

Players will be able to trade those fragments for rewards at the Timeline Fragment Exchange station on Anniversary Island.

In addition to the new quest, the celebration also includes a new “Anniversary Dungeon”. This is different from the 10th Anniversary dungeon. Although that one will be available to run as well.

Finally, an Anniversary Party challenge event is also available. When taking part in this event, players can choose a difficulty between level 1 and 39. Completing the event will earn players Stars that can then be exchanged for special rewards.

Once again, Roblox finds itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit revolving around the company’s policies when it comes to children using its platform. As we know, the platform has been the subject of many concerns involving the safety of the children who use it, and we’ve covered several things they have done in response to those concerns. That said, it seems that those things are still not enough – at least for Los Angeles County, which happens to be the latest group to file suit.

According to an article on Game Developer, which we discovered by way of MassivelyOP, the suit claims Roblox is using “unfair and deceptive business practices that endanger and exploit children”. It also calls the platform an “unsafe online environment” and a “breeding ground for predators”. It goes on to state that this issue lies behind Roblox’s “design choices, safety failures, and false and misleading representations”.

As for what the County seeks to achieve out of this suit, they’ve asked for “injunctive relief, abatement, and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per day for each violation”. This might not seem like a lot, but as it’s daily and it’s for multiple violations, it could be a significant amount.

Roblox has issued a statement on the matter, stating that they “strongly dispute the claims” and “will defend against it vigorously”.

It’s been a while since I’ve thought, or written, about Gloria Victis. It’s not really any wonder when the game shuttered not long after officially launching version 1.0. Yes, the game had been around to play for a good while in Early Access, but it only lasted about ten months after going gold.

The developer, Black Eye Games, closed at the same time. When the closure was announced in August of 2023, the developer noted “financial reasons” as well as the difficulty of running an MMO with such a small staff. They also pointed out that Gloria Victis is a niche MMORPG, and making it appealing to a larger audience without losing its core makeup would be difficult.

Basically, the player base wasn’t enough to sustain the game, and more players weren’t buying in – even when the $20 purchase price was discounted to less than $10.

Today, though, we have some potentially good news for fans of the game. Gamigo is bringing it back. According to an announcement on the game’s Steam page, Gamigo has taken over as a new publisher and will be using their experience in the free-to-play multiplayer game space in the game’s revival, which means the game will become F2P.

That said, the note adds that they’re “staying true to what matters most: a skill-based non-pay-to-win experience”. As they transition the game to the new pay model, they’ll be looking for player feedback. So, if you were one of the game’s fans, you’ll want to share your thoughts with them. 

There will be a small wait for that, however. First, they’ll be dropping details about their plans on February 26, and the community channels will open later on March 2.

Today, Sandbox Interactive released Albion Online’s latest update, Realm Divided Part II. The update introduces two new features to the free-to-play MMORPG’s faction warfare: Faction Battle Standards and a reworked Bandit Assault event.

Faction Battle Standards are new carriable objectives that will appear in Faction Warfare areas. The idea is simple: get the banner home safely and earn rewards. The more a banner is used, the more valuable it becomes. The more valuable it becomes, the more everyone’s going to fight to claim it. So, once it’s in your hands, try to keep it there.

Battle Standards can be found in any Province in conflict and are initially locked when they appear. Once they are unlocked, they can be picked up by anyone and become invisible on the World Map. So players will want to pay attention to the map in order to be the ones to claim it. Players can then carry the Battle Standard to a friendly outpost and deliver it to Fiona Fableheart to earn rewards.

As for the Bandit Assault rework, the event now covers all areas of Faction Warfare. Start out fighting for supplies. Take chests and outposts. As things progress, the focus shrinks down to two Provinces with Fortresses that contain extremely valuable chests. This is a good opportunity for Factions to claim loot and Faction points. So be prepared to take part.

Aside from the two features listed above, the update also implements various balance changes. The full list is available in the patch notes on the Albion Online site.

Now that Steam Next Fest is officially underway, users of the platform can start digging through an endless selection of games and test them out to find the next addition to their library. We gave you a short list of games available during the event, but that doesn’t nearly cover all of them. Luckily for us, some devs are alerting us to their offerings during the event.

In this case, developer and publisher NIRVANA brought its free-to-play tactical strategy RPG Annulus to the Next Fest. In this dark-fantasy game, players are cast in the role of a mercenary captain. They’ll gather weapons and resources, as well as mercenaries they will then train to build their own legion. As they progress, the mercenaries under the player’s command will evolve, with some even taking on new forms inspired by their stories.

Combat in the game is impacted by things like weather, elements, day-night cycles, terrain, and more. In order to progress, players need to take all these factors into account.

As far as the narrative goes, the game boasts multi-path narratives, meaning player choice has an impact.

Between now and March 2, players can check out the game’s demo. There is no official launch date yet, but it shouldn’t be too far off.

MapleStory M, an entry in the MapleStory franchise that has been exclusive to mobile devices, has done pretty well for itself, bringing in more than 75 million registered users globally. But, as with most things, it could always do better, and that’s likely why Nexon is bringing the game to PCs via Steam.

The company announced the free-to-play 2D adventure MMORPG’s upcoming launch on Valve’s platform today. A fully optimized PC version of the game will launch on Steam on March 18, giving PC players the opportunity to experience MapleStory with AFK and offline progression.

Prior to the launch in March, MapleStory M was already available for players to try out as part of Steam Next Fest, which launched today. It will be interesting to see if the Steam version will attract existing MapleStory PC players. My guess is that it might pull those players who have considered trying out the original game but haven’t felt up for the time investment required when joining an MMO that has existed for a while. We shall see.

That said, Nexon has prepared some events to celebrate MapleStory M’s launch on Steam. These include a Wishlist Milestone event. As players wishlist the game on Steam and hit certain milestones, they’ll unlock rewards. Hitting the final goal of 100K wishlists will earn everyone exclusive login rewards.

A second wishlist-related event is the Wishlist Screenshot event. When wishlisting the game on Steam, players will need to take a screenshot and share it on Facebook. Winners will be randomly selected from the submissions on March 18.

Steam Next Fest is kicking off on Monday, and a lot of games have signed up to take part – far too many for us to actually count. Many of those games will be free-to-play offerings, whether that be MMORPGs, action games, MOBAs, or anything else. All of these are games getting ready to release this year, most of them sooner rather than later. All of them will have demos available during Steam Next Fest. We decided to take a look at what’s coming and find some to share with you. Perhaps you’ll find something new to try out.

Spot Zero

Tarta Tech Limited’s Spot Zero is an anime-style ARPG set in a post-apocalyptic world where humans and yokai live and work together. There are only a few towns left, and it's up to the players to take teams made up of both the humans and yokai out into zones controlled by monsters and set up outposts. Players assemble a team of elite investigators and train them.

Each character has its own abilities based on race and weapon type, and players will need to build their teams in ways intended to take advantage of that, swapping the characters out in combat. During combat, players charge energy to be used to freeze the enemy and bring out the entire group to attack at once.

Eon Rush

Eon Rush is a game designed for MOBA and ARPG players and features endgame-level combat from the beginning. The game boasts no grinding to reach endgame and promises that players don’t need to worry about level to play with their friends. There is progression, but it’s not the kind that restricts players from being able to team up. Instead, it gives players more options on how to work together using the game’s Fusion system.

DreamWorld

If you missed it, we’ve written about this game before. DreamWorld is a sandbox MMO where players can build (or destroy) anything they want. They’ll explore different areas, collect resources, build their bases, and hopefully just have a good time. The game makes use of AI text prompts to aid players in their creation, so players should come up with pretty interesting things.

Drone Zone

Euphoria Machine, Drone Zone’s developer and publisher, describes the game as a mix of tactical shooter and MOBA. The other obvious feature of the game is that players control drones to engage in combat, which probably makes the game a lot more vertical than most MOBAs or shooters.

Why drones? Because the world is a radioactive wasteland, humans have to live underground. So, drones do all the fighting and resource acquisition. Each drone has a variety of skills, such as being able to stun the enemy, generate anomalies, and more. Players can make their own unique drones using the resources they’ve gathered, adding better engines, guns, and the like.

Fate Trigger

Speaking of tactical shooters… a new anime-style hero-based version is on the way. Fate Trigger, by Saroasis Studios, features a roster of characters with varying abilities entering an arena to battle it out in different game modes. The game features Battle Royale, team-based defense, and more. The Steam description doesn’t explicitly state it, but based on the sample gifs on the page, it seems players may be able to switch between third-person and first-person combat. Either way, it looks like it might be a good bit of fun.

Only Animals

Looking for something with fewer guns and more critters? Perhaps Only Animals is for you. The game features a “truly endless world” with ongoing procedurally-generated biomes where players can capture and turn into more than 100 animals. Whichever animal the player transforms into dictates how they go about exploring the world.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s all cozy. The game features massive bosses that players will need to fight. That’s not to mention just surviving in general. The good news is you can team up with nine friends to make things easier.

Crystalfall

Ah. The classic loot-centric ARPG. That’s Crystalfall. Players start out the game as a convict trapped in the dungeons of a ruling organization and fight their way through a world that’s not exactly doing well following an asteroid impact. When it hit, the asteroid scattered shards across the world. Now players must contend with mutated beasts and steampunk enemies – because why not steampunk?

The game features a sizeable talent tree as well as lootable skills with their own randomized trees. And yes, there’s plenty of loot for players to collect, use, and sell. The game offers players seasonal content as well as a full endgame experience.

Of course, this is a small selection of all the games that will be taking part in Steam Next Fest. If you’re looking for something specific, you’ll want to take the time to look through the list when it launches.

Whether you’re a Fortnite fan or not, sooner or later, you’ll probably see something you love come to the game at some point. So, I doubt anyone is surprised when their game announces a collaboration with Epic’s free-to-play battle royale, such as Netmarble’s announcement about today’s Solo Leveling: ARISE collaboration launch.

This collaboration isn’t exactly new news. I’ve seen discussions about it over the last couple of days. But today is the official launch date for it. The event will run through March 2, during which time Fortnite players can obtain Solo Leveling: ARISE cosmetics, including outfits, based on their favorite characters.

The collaboration isn’t the only news the Solo Leveling: ARISE team had for us today. The action game is also hosting a few events, including a Valentine’s Day event that will last until March 12, during which time players can earn up to 100 Custom Draw Tickets for logging in. A second Valentine event also offers players daily missions and other activities to take part in to earn even more rewards.

Today, Amazon Games announced plans for a region merge of the Throne and Liberty servers in the Americas. According to the announcement, players on the free-to-play MMORPG's NA-West, NA-East, and SA-East region servers will all be consolidated into one big region simply named “Americas,” and the server time will be adjusted to US Central.

At the same time, EU and APAC PlayStation-only servers will be merged with general servers.

The merge will follow maintenance on March 12. Once it’s completed, the max character cap per region will be adjusted to 6, and all characters that already existed in the previous regions will be brought together.

A merge also means changes to things like the auction house. So, following the merge, the Americas region will have two auction houses. One auction house will be exclusive to the PlayStation-only server, while the other serves everything outside the PlayStation server. At the same time, the Europe and Asia Pacific Northeast servers will each have one auction house, with the PlayStation-specific one being eliminated.

The announcement also contains information on how the changes will impact Siege Warfare, Guilds, and more. It can be found on the Throne and Liberty Steam page.

We’re less than six months away from TennoCon 2026, Digital Extreme’s annual celebration of the free-to-play MMORPGs Warframe and Soulframe. The convention takes place over July 10 and 11, during which time players can expect fun activities and announcements. There will be panels, merch, autograph signings, and even a concert.

Of course, all of this requires tickets. In fact, players have been waiting to find out when those might go on sale. Now we know.

Yesterday, Digital Extremes announced that players will be able to purchase their tickets on February 27, beginning at 4 PM Eastern time. Unless something very strange happens, it is pretty much guaranteed that those tickets will be gone the same day. So, if you’re interested in going, be sure to set your alarm.

If you want details on Path of Exile’s 3.28 expansion, “Mirage”, then you should add the upcoming GGG Live to your schedule. The stream will take place at 11 am Pacific on February 26 and will fully introduce the free-to-play ARPG's new challenge league and its related content. Following the stream, Game Director Mark and Game Designer Octavian will host a Q&A session for players who wish to know more.

Of course, as this is a Twitch stream, players can expect some Drop rewards. What the rewards might be haven’t been revealed yet. Information on that will be available sometime next week.

One thing we don’t have to wait until the stream to find out about the expansion is when it will arrive. According to the post on the PoE forums, the new content will drop on PC and Consoles on March 6.

Those hoping for a closer look at Mistil Games’ third-person shooter Time Takers may be in luck soon. Today, the developer announced the upcoming launch of the free-to-play game’s first closed beta test. (It seems we’re having a lot of tests lately.) The test runs from March 13 to March 21. During that time, players can check out the game’s features, including the Time Energy system.

Currently, the test is only open to players in the Americas. The primary regions are the US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru, with the servers being optimized for these regions. The test does allow for players from outside these regions, but they will need to go through extra steps to take part and are warned about possible latency issues.

Players will have to schedule appropriately to take part in this test, as it’s not 24/7. Instead, servers will be accessible for eight hours each day – 4 pm to midnight Pacific. That’s still a decent amount of time, so everyone should be able to get some time in.

As for how to sign up, head to Steam and click “Request Access” on the game’s page. It’s also suggested that you wishlist the game.

MMORPGs are one of the most popular gaming genres in existence, offering players communities full of individuals to interact with in-game, flashy and entertaining combat systems, unique worlds to explore, and interesting stories to experience through quests. However, if there is something that can set MMORPGs apart, it is the level of character customization one has access to.

After all, building a custom character is very important to gaming enthusiasts. Furthermore, it’s always a bonus when titles with good character customization can be downloaded and played for free. Keeping that in mind, we’ve rounded up seven free-to-play MMORPG games with the best character customization options.

Dungeons & Dragons Online

Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) has some of the best character creation when it comes to free-to-play MMOs, enabling almost endless possibilities. Players choose from Melee, Spell, or Specialist, and then select one of several classes from each of these roles. Then, you get to choose from a pre-determined path of Feats, Spells, and Skills, or build your own from scratch. And that’s all before you get to creating the physical side of your character!

Players can then, of course, choose their gender and Race, with over ten different racial options to choose from. When it comes to appearance editing, you can customize your character’s hairstyle, facial hair, eyebrow style, hair color, eye geometry, eye color, nose geometry, lip geometry, and facial details. Lastly, you can tie everything together by picking out a name and alignment for your character.

Lost Ark

The character creation options of Lost Ark offer deep customization that makes it very appealing for those looking for a free-to-play MMO. Players first select one of 25 base presets or generate a random one. From here, they can then select a face preset or generate a random one and then modify it to their liking. There are over twenty varying hairstyle options for each class, each of which has further customization.

Then, players can edit eyes and skin to their liking. Lastly, there are makeup and accessory options to pick from, including lipstick, tattoos, and facial hair. Players can then customize their outfit by purchasing different options from the in-game marketplace. There are hundreds of options available across many different styles and aesthetics, so there’s likely something suited to every kind of character you could come up with. There are also communities that share character presets for different themes and aesthetics, if you’re looking for some help coming up with the perfect design.

MapleStory

MapleStory has great character customization because not only can you customize your character, but you can also create up to 3 custom characters per week, for a total of 20 maximum custom characters per world. For each character you create, you get to choose a class, select your gender, and then customize your face, hair, outfit, shoes, weapons, and more.

There are also heaps of customizable pieces that can be unlocked in-game through different methods, such as purchases, events, and more. In fact, there is such a variety of options available that there are even websites dedicated to the community sharing their designs with one another, providing listings of each item in the outfit.

Guild Wars 2

When it comes to character customization in Guild Wars 2, players can choose a gender and select from five different race options – Human, Asura, Sylvari, Charr, and Norn. From here, there are nine different professions to choose from. Following this, players can then start customizing the physical appearance of their character. This includes body features, head options, facial details, and armor dyes. Next, players will answer a questionnaire about themselves to determine the background of the character.

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis

The character customization in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis is definitely impressive, making it one of the best free-to-play options for such criteria. Players can choose from heaps of different base presets. There are multiple body types to choose from, including more cybernetic/robotic options. Players can then choose simple creation or detailed creation to choose which level of customization input they’d like to have over their character, which is a really nice touch.

Players can edit their body, face shape, hair style and color, iris pattern and color, eyebrow shape and color, eyelashes, ear shape, horns, teeth style, skin tone, body paint, outfit, accessories, voice, motions/stances/animations – and that’s all within just the simple creation! The character creator offers a pretty generous amount of options to start off, with the ability to unlock more customization options as you progress, and then edit your character down the line.

Where Winds Meet

Where Winds Meet is one of the most popular free-to-play MMOs in recent years, having gained massive attention throughout 2025. Aside from looking absolutely gorgeous and having customizable combat and intriguing exploration, there are also quite a few strengths in the character creation department, helping to keep players invested in the world of Wuxia. If fans really want to, they can also forgo the traditional step-by-step character creation and have the Where Winds Meet smart creation generate their character from an image. This is fun if you’re looking to base your design on either yourself or any existing character.

Players start by choosing their character’s gender. They can then choose between elegant or realistic portraits, each one offering a range of pre-built designs to start with. You can then customize your character by sculpting their face to your liking. Players then apply makeup to their character, which includes eye makeup, lip makeup, blush, facial accessories, and facial hair. After selecting one of the hairstyle options, players then have the ability to select their character’s voice, either from a range of presets or by recording their own to generate a voice for their character. To complete the process, players then choose one of the available outfits, with the option to unlock more through gameplay.

Throne and Liberty

To complete the list, we have Throne and Liberty. While the game may have faced its fair share of highs and lows, the character creation mechanics offer some of the most in-depth options available in a free-to-play MMO. There are randomization options, an easy face maker option, and of course, detail-oriented options for those looking to take their customization to the next level. Heck, there’s even a surprising amount of tutorials online showing fans how to recreate some of the most notable characters from other franchises.

Presets are available, but players also have the chance to change nearly anything they’d like. This includes face, skin, cheekbones, jaw, bone structure, chin, expression, eyebrows, eye color and shape, mouth, hair, makeup and warpaint, outfits and armor, and so much more. Plus, you can customize every little detail on each one of these aspects, letting players really perfect their designs and bring their ideas to life with accuracy.

I didn’t have “space extraction-action game” from Gaijin on my bingo card for today, but that’s what we’re getting. The company announced its new free-to-play multiplayer game, Star Wrath, today, and then went a step further. Not only did they kick off closed beta testing signups, but the CBT is already live.

As you’d expect from the description, Star Wrath is an extraction game set in space – or more specifically, the edge of a destroyed solar system. Players roam the region in spaceships, fighting each other for resources and DNA samples from pilots. The DNA is used to acquire the abilities of fallen pilots and modify the player’s character. The character isn’t the only thing modifiable; players can also build their own ships using modules. These modifications can be done free-style, or players can use preset blueprints.

Of course, the idea is to collect as much as you can, eliminate all the enemies you can, and be the one to make it out alive. The email the press release came in describes the game as being “Escape from Tarkov meets Elite Dangerous” only with explosive space battles, DNA shenanigans, and the like.

As mentioned above, the game is already in closed beta. Players can sign up for the test using a Gaijin.Net account. Invitations will go out in waves. Founder’s Packs are available, and yes, they do include guaranteed access. More information on the new game can be found on the official site or the Steam page.

Today, Warframe launched globally on Android devices. I’m pretty sure that’s the only platform the free-to-play MMO shooter wasn’t already available, and now it is. To grab the game, just head to the Play Store. Of course, your device will need to meet certain requirements, such as running Android OS 12.0 or higher.

If you’ve been playing Warframe on another device, you can link your Android account with the existing Warframe account. Also know that all the standard features will be available in the Android version, and that it will follow the same update schedule as all the other platforms.

If you’re worried about hard drive space, the app will take up about 14 GB. The initial install will consist of the tutorial experience and will be about 4 GB. After completing that, players will be prompted to download the other 10.

To celebrate the launch, Digital Extremes is offering players who log in on Android devices between now and March 4 a special pack containing the Cirrus Armor Bundle, Cumulus Syandana, Stratus Pistol Skin, Spektaka Color Palette, and a 3-Day Resource Booster.

What happens when you combine Kart-style racing with battle royales and add a whole bunch of creepy-cute animals to the mix? Mayhem, apparently. And, a new game from developers Look Mister and Tevaera Labs.

DeGen Rivals is an 8-player Kart-based battle royale inspired by games like Twitsted Metal. Only, it’s cuter – likely because it’s set in a world where a mad scientist just kinda threw everything they found sitting around (like pizza and cats) into some DNA experiments to create the “DeGens” players will be competing as. During matches, players can use a variety of weapons, including their own vehicle, to defeat their opponent. Game modes include “Cops n Robbers”, “Loot Smash”, and more.

The game is scheduled to release on PC and mobile devices in March. Before that, players will have the opportunity to check it out during Steam Next Fest next week.

A new, open-world sandbox MMO is getting ready to make its debut via Early Access on Steam. Described as a “next-generation Sandbox MMO”, Dreamworld (Developed by DreamWorld Realities Inc.) is an MMO built to allow all players to exist in “a single, infinite, fully shared world”. That means that there are no servers, worlds, or shards – anything that generally breaks an MMO’s community up into smaller communities.

According to the press release, it’s built on Unreal Engine 5 and is “designed as a creator-driven platform”. It features a building system that allows players to build pretty much anything they can think of, ranging from fortresses to mini-games to cities. The game also features an AI text-to-3D model generation system that allows for the creation of custom structures.

As you’d expect from an open-world MMO, DreamWorld features biomes where players can collect the resources they need for their projects, as well as craft weapons and spells, among other things. Players can also expect a variety of options when it comes to getting around in the game’s world, including flying, diving, and mounts.

For those interested, the devs and their partner MARBLEX, a subsidiary of Netmarble, have entered DreamWorld as one of the games taking part in Steam Next Fest on February 23. At that point, players can try out the game for free. As for whether it will be fully free-to-play or not, it is listed as such on Steam. However, when I inquired, I'd been told that monetization hasn’t been decided on as of yet and that players can likely expect premium founder's packs for Early Access. So, be aware that the status may change.

Star Trek Online is celebrating its Sweet 16 the way only an online game can…with new content. The free-to-play MMORPG’s latest update, Corruption, is live on PC and slated to launch on consoles on March 10, bringing Nicole do Boer back to reprise her role as Captain Ezri Dax of the U.S.S. Aventine.

In the new episode, titled Curse of Phrygia, Dax summons players to the MIDAS Array to fight the Chimerans threatening the array – and subsequently the galaxy. This means that players will be taking on a new TFO – Belly of the Beast – and fight their way through waves of psionic beacons and the enemy reinforcements they’re calling in. To take back the array, they’ll also have to deal with the invasion once they’ve boarded.

In addition to the new Episode and TFO, the update also includes a new event with the same name as the update. Once again, players must deal with an infestation of Chimerans who have been sabotaging Alliance structures.

Another bit of new content in the update consists of a gift for players. If you’re looking to change your style, you have two new hairstyles to work with. And they’re free. The first is a pixie cut, obviously inspired by Dax. The other goes completely in the other direction with shaggy hair. There are several new items in the store as well.