History Main / Freemium

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfTanks'' gives 50% bonus on all earned experience and game money to users with paid "premium" accounts. While it is entirely possible to get any of the top tanks for free, a few of them are too expensive to repair and require either a premium account, [[NintendoHard lighning-fast reflexes and strategy]] or another tank to earn money for two. T-50-2 is one such example -- as a Tier 5 [[OneHitPointWonder light scout]], that frequently has to face top-tier opponents, it gets killed very often. The game also uses microtransactions, allowing to purchase: more room in the hangar (useful, if you want more than 5 tanks), better shells (sometimes deadly, but usually not very useful) and rare tank models (which are no better than regular, but allow to avoid LevelGrinding).

* The VoIP service [[http://www.ooma.com Ooma]] offers two tiers of service for its home-phone service. There's the free "Basic" account, and a paid "Premier" account that offers more features (like call forwarding and call blocking) that would cost about 3x as much with a landline plan. New users can get a 60-day free trial of the Premier account, which they can choose to keep or let expire.

* {{Parodied}} by ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' in [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/05/11 this strip]].

** In some markets however, the Open tier is unavailable and Unlimited is offered for free instead, with an additional gotcha of not being able to play specific tracks from the artist or album, and you can only listen to an album on shuffle or random songs from the artist. Premium doesn't have those limitations.

* In some markets however, the Open tier is unavailable and Unlimited is offered for free instead, with an additional gotcha of not being able to play specific tracks from the artist or album, and you can only listen to an album on shuffle or random songs from the artist. Premium doesn't have those limitations.

* The ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Freemium Isn't Free" has Stan becoming addicted to the Terrance and Philip Freemium game, which is treated as a FantasticDrug of sorts.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' went Free-To-Play when the Uber Update was released in Summer 2011. Free (or Limited) accounts only get to store up to 50 items in their Backpack, can only receive items rather than being able to Trade or give gifts[[note]]a few items such as paints ''can'' be traded by free accounts (only when they're dropped), though, most likely a mistake[[/note]], have limited Crafting blueprints and can't get Rare (such as the Halloween Items) or Cosmetic items. Otherwise, they can get all of the regular weapons, and all game modes and maps are available to both Free and Premium accounts [[note]]Some private servers either ban free players or tag "[=F2P=]" to their names, although this is less common after changes to Quickplay rules and is really only seen on trading servers (where F2Ps have little to no business being anyway) and other private servers running custom mods not eligible for Quickplay[[/note]]. Worth mentioning is that the only requirement for "premium"/Retail is buying any item from the in-game store, which can be as cheap as $0.50[[note]]The minimum deposit for Steam Wallet Funds if $5, though, so unless you've got some change left over from buying another game you'll need to add at least $5[[/note]]; in fact, the only difference between a premium account gained from buying the game itself as opposed to something from the in-game store is [[CosmeticAward a Proof of Purchase hat]].

* Tony Stark enforces this in ''[[ComicBook/IronMan Superior Iron Man]]''. He creates "Extremis 3.0" and spreads it across San Francisco, granting people heightened strength, perception, {{shapeshifitng}}, and even a powerful HealingFactor, allowing them to become be look as perfect as they want. However, when he reveals that keeping it will cost ''$100 a day'', it unleashes a massive crime wave that grabs the attention, and ire, of its recently arrived protector, ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}.

* Tony Stark enforces this in ''[[ComicBook/IronMan Superior Iron Man]]''. He creates "Extremis 3.0" and spreads it across San Francisco, granting people there physical perfection. However, when he reveals that keeping it will cost ''$100 a day'', it unleashes a massive crime wave that grabs the attention, and ire, of its recently arrived protector, ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}.

* {{Marvel}}'s ''VideoGame/SuperHeroSquadOnline'' has a free play mode, which gives you some starting heroes and lets you play the Mission of the Day, and requires a monthly fee for additional heroes and missions.

Unlike games that use {{Microtransactions}}, Freemium games have a binary distinction between those who pay and those who do not: you're either Free, or you're Premium. This tends to limit the BribingYourWayToVictory effect--if you can only pay a fixed amount, you can't out-pay the other people who are paying. That's not to say that the two payment methods can't be combined--there are plenty of Freemium games that also feature {{Microtransactions}}.

* A running gag on [[ImageBoards 4chan]] / Website/{{Facebook}} / Website/{{Ponychan}} is to post an image that says "Image requires a 4chan/Facebook/Ponychan GOLD account". [[BlatantLies People will then post]] [[Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes what an awesome picture it was]], prompting someone to eventually ask "How do I get GOLD acct.?!" and thus outing themselves as a noob.

* In ''{{Wizard 101}}'', a monthly subscription free gives you blanket access to the features that free players would otherwise have to purchase through {{Micropayments}}.

* Among other things, Free players of ''ShatteredGalaxy'' level up at a severely handicapped rate.

* Many ''Creator/{{Sony}} Online Entertainment'' games have been switched to a 'Free to Play, Your Way!' model. This model offers 3 tiers of play: Free, Premium and Legendary. '''Free''' players can play almost all content up to level {{Cap}} barring DownloadableContent but they have less item and bank slots and a lower money limit, as well as only 2 character slots. Excess money once the player has hit the cap is placed into an "escrow" account, which the player must buy a coupon for (using real cash) to retrieve. More slots can be bought and a purchase of at least $5.00 upgrades a player to '''Premium''' status with access to more item slots and a higher money cap than Free players but less than Legendary players. Both tiers must additionally purchase any [=DLC=] they wish to play. '''Legendary''' requires a (albeit small) monthly subscription fee, opening up all the game's original (Pay to Play) features. Missing a payment downgrades a player to Premium until the next payment. ''{{Everquest}}'', ''Everquest 2'', ''DCUniverseOnline'' and ''Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes'' use this model.

* ''{{Furcadia}}'' is possibly the UrExample; since 1997, you could get wings for your characters, and entirely new species for a certain price. In their kickstarter campaign, they mentioned they've been using a Freemium model before it was a word.
* ''WorldOfTanks'' gives 50% bonus on all earned experience and game money to users with paid "premium" accounts. While it is entirely possible to get any of the top tanks for free, a few of them are too expensive to repair and require either a premium account, [[NintendoHard lighning-fast reflexes and strategy]] or another tank to earn money for two. T-50-2 is one such example -- as a Tier 5 [[OneHitPointWonder light scout]], that frequently has to face top-tier opponents, it gets killed very often. The game also uses microtransactions, allowing to purchase: more room in the hangar (useful, if you want more than 5 tanks), better shells (sometimes deadly, but usually not very useful) and rare tank models (which are no better than regular, but allow to avoid LevelGrinding).

* Then there's Skype. You can call and chat with other Skype users for free, but to call a landline or cellphone, you need to buy skype credits.

* ''VideoGame/RagnarokOnline'' has a Free server and a Premium server. The Premium server gives more exp, higher drop rate, and items which can not be obtained on the free server. In some regions, the Free servers actually have ''more'' items... except they are all PurposefullyOverpowered items ''intended'' to break the game's balance. Of course, these items [[BribingYourWayToVictory are only available for renting with real cash for a short time]] - that's right, you can't buy them, so if you want to stay on the competitive game ''you're paying a fee either way''.

* Many ''{{Sony}} Online Entertainment'' games have been switched to a 'Free to Play, Your Way!' model. This model offers 3 tiers of play: Free, Premium and Legendary. '''Free''' players can play almost all content up to level {{Cap}} barring DownloadableContent but they have less item and bank slots and a lower money limit, as well as only 2 character slots. Excess money once the player has hit the cap is placed into an "escrow" account, which the player must buy a coupon for (using real cash) to retrieve. More slots can be bought and a purchase of at least $5.00 upgrades a player to '''Premium''' status with access to more item slots and a higher money cap than Free players but less than Legendary players. Both tiers must additionally purchase any [=DLC=] they wish to play. '''Legendary''' requires a (albeit small) monthly subscription fee, opening up all the game's original (Pay to Play) features. Missing a payment downgrades a player to Premium until the next payment. ''{{Everquest}}'', ''Everquest 2'', ''DCUniverseOnline'' and ''Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes'' use this model.

* ''RagnarokOnline'' has a Free server and a Premium server. The Premium server gives more exp, higher drop rate, and items which can not be obtained on the free server. In some regions, the Free servers actually have ''more'' items... except they are all PurposefullyOverpowered items ''intended'' to break the game's balance. Of course, these items [[BribingYourWayToVictory are only available for renting with real cash for a short time]] - that's right, you can't buy them, so if you want to stay on the competitive game ''you're paying a fee either way''.

* Mobirix's iOS and Android ports of Psikyo shooters ''[[VideoGame/{{Strikers1945}} Strikers 1945 II, Strikers 1945 III]]'' and ''Tengai'' (''Sengoku Blade'') add leaderboards, achievements, multiplayer, ads, and... locking all but the first character, maybe giving a second character if an achievement is complete. The rest can be earned grinding through hundreds of playthroughs to earn gems to unlock a character. Or buy $15 worth of gems to unlock all the characters, and further spend gems and gold for power-ups and continues.