The Top Free To Play MMOs On Steam Released In 2016

The year 2016 gave us many MMOs to play—maybe too many. It can be tough to narrow down a list of games that are worth playing without feeling overwhelmed. So we decided to take on the anxiety for you, and compile a list of the best free to play games available on Steam that released this past year. (And yes, Early Access games and full releases are treated equally.) If we've missed anything you think deserves to be on this list, let us know in the comments.

Paladins

Does Overwatch," Paladins has enough to offer to stand on its own.

Chronicle: RuneScape Legends

Runescape universe card game combines tabletop elements with cards—like an expensive KickStarter board game. Players pick a Legend, a hero glued to a Pog, and then battle cards they place on the board. Defeat all of your cards and move on to the next chapter. If both players survive until the fifth round they bash each others faces until only one polyurethane hero remains. It sounds a bit complex, but that's only because there's nothing else in the CCG arena to compare Chronicle to. Check out Omer's first look below and the gameplay will snap right into place.

Atlas Reactor

Trion Worlds' Atlas Reactor is another niche title: turn-based-tactical PvP matches, culminating in gameplay that's "refreshingly unique." It's intuitive enough to pick up if you've played any other board-based tactics game; and it's also the first title to offer full Discord integration—pretty neat.

Heroes and Generals

Heroes and Generals officially launched this month; it's been five years since the first Alpha test. The World War II shooter is not a personal favorite but SteamCharts proves my opinion doesn't matter. Players hop on bicycles, drive tanks, and get intimate in the back of a truck to capture objective points (similar to any Battlefield), and aim their Mosin-Nagant at enemy domes. The game's most interesting feature is its persistent war, where player generals fight for control of Europe on a giant board while other players function as infantry on the ground. Heroes and Generals does do some nickel-and-diming: you have to pay to refill your ammo after every match, with in-game currency or dolla bills—you can set your ammo to auto-refill but why is that a requirement? Anyway, it's a solid shooter, and it's free. Grab some buddies and become the ultimate bicycle infantry warriors.

Riders of Icarus

Nexon published 3D MMORPG pushes you through a fantasy world as a trope class: Berserker, Assassin, Guardian, Priest, Wizard; but also includes an extra special mechanic. You can tame and capture nearly any creature in the game. See a boar? She's all yours. Taming creatures is like catching Pokémon you can ride around on the ground or through the skies. And the game has been adding content on a fairly consistent basis, since the Korean version has been ahead of the Western release for quite a while. If you're itching for a free MMORPG, and you're not a fan of chibi characters, press the "Play Now" button on the Riders of Icarus Steam Page—or the big red one below.

First Assault

Someone, somewhere is sighing because they've just scrolled to the second Nexon game on this list: First Assault; a game with a ridiculously long name when you spell it out: "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - First Assault Online." If you check the Steam page you can buy all of the game's DLC content for the low, low cost of $169.96. Wow. But no worries, the game is free-to-play. First Assault features a number of game modes where players get to embody characters from the Ghost in the Shell universe and unleash character-specific abilities. Its most charming aspect is that players can sync their abilities with allies to buff one another, so you better get along with your teammates and avoid spamming "mm2" in chat.

Fractured Space

Fractured Space doesn't rival its neighbors, it's a solid sci-fi MOBA and one of the only games of its kind.

Tree of Savior

It was the game meant to succeed Tree of Savior is still an impressive game with one of the best soundtracks of the year, and a wonderful art style further enhanced by Maggi An Jeong-won's (안정원) fantastic work. The Korean grinder may have just a bit too much grind for casual players to reach end-game, but its combat is addictive. Nothing is more satisfying than watching cute mobs explode as their HP clicks to zero. If you haven't played it, and you hate reading, you might as well install it and find out what Ragnarok Online veterans were hyped about.

Tiger Knight: Empire War

China's NetDragon is killing it on Steam with Tiger Knight: Empire War, a strategy game superficially compared to Mount and Blade. Players command a legion in 200v200 warrior battles; kill and pillage like it's 200 AD. Tiger Knight is the only free-to-play game of its kind and makes the impoverished historian in me all giddy. The game is in Early Access, so don't expect perfection just yet. But bugs aren't too bad, as Tiger Knight easily attracts over six thousand players as of this writing. That's an impressive number of people hack-and-slashing each other across the sanguine fields of ancient wars.

Shadowverse

Created by the same people who made Rage of Bahamut and the still not-ported Hearthstone, but better." And by better they mean waifus. You can also play Shadowverse on your phone if you prefer slapping digital cards down while on public transit to work—make sure everyone around you knows you're the best.