The best selling massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft or WoW, as it is called, has become so popular that many free MMORPGs have sprung up that are similar to WoW.
Best Free World of Warcraft Clones
Check out these top Free Online MMORPG Games Like WoW if you want to try out a WoW clone.
Nowadays the term “WoW clone” can be used negatively by players or gaming industry people but the truth of the matter is that there are quite a few games like WoW that have become major hits, with millions of active players, especially the free WoW clones. Why exactly are these so-called WoW clones so in demand with today’s gamers?
The answer is quite simple really. The entertainment industry loves a hit and always wants to join the bandwagon when something new becomes popular. For example, how many movies released in a year are sequels or prequels? It’s less risky for business if you put your money on a proven moneymaker compared to a new, untested and unproven property.
That’s why when the World of Warcraft burst into the MMORPG gaming scene and stunned industry experts with its enormous amount of paid subscriptions that far exceeded earlier numbers, developers immediately started looking into releasing similar games.
Is Free to Play WoW Better than Paid Membership?
In fact, Blizzard itself has begun to realize that free may be the way to. In 2011, Blizzard announced that the World of Warcraft game now has a free trial with no time limit but with a level 20 cap. Those who wish to continue leveling their character will have to pay for a subscription. Before this there was a 14-day free trial period for WoW.
Why did Blizzard change their policy? Well, gamers are understandably reluctant to fork out their hard-earned money for a game they are not sure they want to play. Although 14 days is a pretty long time, if a person picks up the game and can’t decide within that time whether he or she wants to play then WoW loses that player forever. Unlimited playing time means more people will sign up for paid memberships since they can try it out at their own pace.
In other words, the free MMO game model really does work. That’s where all those free WoW clones find a ready-made market – people who do want to play games like WoW but don’t want to pay for memberships.
So what are these Wow clones like?
Many of them have the same feel, look and user interface as the World of Warcraft but have some different game elements. Like WoW their success rests on three major factors:
1.) MMORPGs must run smoothly and without any bugs that will annoy players. When Blizzard released their bestselling game, many reviewers noted how unlike other game launches it was in that WoW was so polished and finished.
2.) Blizzard also choose to make the game more accessible to everyone by not making it a big PC resource hog. Even older computer systems can handle the game and this is also true of the biggest WoW clones.
3.) MMOs are meant to be social games and this is where the best games really shine. A large, active and friendly community is a must.
Links to the Best and Most Popular Free WoW Clones
Here’s our list of Games Like Wow or you can read about the Best Free MMORPG Games list for more fun games.
