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{{trope}}
[[File:
Games that run on a '''Freemium''' model will have two modes:
# Play for free. You can play as long as you like without paying, but some amount of content will be unavailable, and you might have to deal with annoying advertisements.
# Upgrade to a paid account. This gives you full access to the features that weren't available for free, but you have to shell out some dough for the privilege (almost always a monthly fee).
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 [[Bribing Your Way to Victory]]
Offering a [[
If the game's marketing plays up features in the paid version of the game while advertising it as "Free", you probably have an [[Allegedly Free Game]] on your hands.
Of course, this model isn't limited to games. It's a common business model all over the internet.
Compare and contrast [[Shareware]].
{{See also
{{examples
▲== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* Stephen Colbert jokingly offers "Colbert Platinum" segments for ''[[The Colbert Report]]'''s very rich viewers, instructing everyone else to look away until it's over.
{{quote|
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Club Penguin]]'' accounts are upgraded via monthly subscription.
* ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Free Realms]]'' membership starts at around $4.00 per month. The game features [[Micro Payments]] as well. [[Irony|Ironic]] considering [[Allegedly Free Game|its name]].
* In ''[[Wizard 101]]'', a monthly subscription free gives you blanket access to the features that free players would otherwise have to purchase through [[Micro Payments]].
* ''[[
* Among other things, Free players of ''[[Shattered Galaxy]]'' level up at a severely handicapped rate.
* ''[[Toontown Online]]'' runs on a monthly subscription model.
* [[Marvel]]'s ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[http://www.xgenstudios.com/game.php?keyword=stickarena Stick Arena Ballistick]''. Anyone can play the basic game. Buying a Lab Pass for $5.95 (1 month), $29.95 (6 months) or 57.95 (1 year) will allow you access to new arenas, weapons, pets and spinners.
* ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' 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 [[Purposefully Overpowered]] items ''intended'' to break the game's balance. Of course, these items [[Bribing Your Way to Victory|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''.
* ''[[DC Universe Online]]'' has 3 tiers of play; free, premium and legendary. Free players have access to almost everything, however they have less item and bank slots and a lower money limit, as well as only 2 character slots, but it is possible to buy more. Also, DLC packs must be bought by free and premium players, whereas they are free for legendary (paying monthly) players. Premium players are players who have spent at least $5.00 on the game, and they have access to more item slots and money than free players but less than legendary players.;
* ''[[Quake III Arena
* ''[[
* ''[[Dark Orbit]]'' features two kinds of currencies: credits, which may be obtained generating and selling minerals (for free; it just requires you to be [[Money Grinding|clickittyclickittypatient]]); and Uridium, which are obtained mainly paying a monthly fee. You can find both types of currency roaming randomly through the space and completing missions, but Uridium are much rarer, and, of course, [[Bribing Your Way to Victory|Uridium buy the coolest things]].<ref>To clarify: in the shop, all items have a fixed price, in credits or Uridium. You can still auction any item for credits, but you need '''lots''' of luck or '''lots''' of money. Or both. Or logging in at ungodly hours when no one's awake (it kind of helps that ''[[Dark Orbit]]'' servers are country-specific).</ref>
* ''[[Sryth]]'' has a lot of content available for free. Buying a subscription (9.95 USD for 3 months, or 19.95 USD for 1 whole year) grants access to even more content: The ability to log in regardless of server load, no ads, more character slots (4 instead of 2), more adventures, more events, more locations to visit, a way to learn all skills and powers instead of just some of them, Grand Residences, Multiplayer scenarios… See [http://www.sryth.com/ci.php?f_c=members_ag_fb.inc this page] for an incomplete list of the things subscribers get.
* ''[[
* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' introduced this
* ''[[ARMA:
* ''[[Video Game/Draw Something|Draw Something]]'' has a free version with ads and a pay version ($.99) without ads.
* ''[[
* In addition to items and experience boosts obtained by spending Gold, bought with real money, any ''[[Starsiege: Tribes|Tribes: Ascend]]'' player who has ever spent any amount of money on the game gets VIP status which grants a permanent 50% EXP bonus; this stacks multiplicatively with the bought experience booster packs. VIP will also grant you access to premium servers available only to paying players, [[Perpetual Beta|if they ever come online that is]].
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* [[Parodied]] by ''[[Penny Arcade (Webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'' in [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/5/11/ this strip].
== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[[Homestar Runner]]'' [[Parodied]] this in an [[April Fools' Day]] prank, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20131106184918/http://www.homestarrunner.com/payplus.html HomestarRunner.com PAY PLUS!]"
* The [[Day Nine]] Daily, a web show for ''[[
== Other Media ==
* The web radio service [http://www.pandora.com Pandora] is free to use, but upgrading to [http://www.pandora.com/pandora_one?ref=subscribeLink Pandora One] provides such perks as unlimited listening time, pause/rewind/skip options, no ads, and such.
* [http://www.hulu.com Hulu] offers free video streaming for popular TV shows and movies. Signing up for "Hulu Plus" expands the available video library significantly, as well as letting you watch (some) streams on a Playstation 3.
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* Some file download sites offer superior service to users who purchase premium memberships. These include faster download speed, no time between downloads, no download limits and the ability to download multiple files at once. Examples:
** [http://www.4shared.com/premium.jsp?ref=header 4shared Premium]
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20111210162234/http://www.filesonic.com/premium Filesonic Premium]
** [http://hotfile.com/premium.html Hotfile Premium]
** [http://www.scribd.com Scribd]: Getting a subscription allows you to download as many documents as you like for a specific period of time.
* [[Deviant ART]] removes ads for paying members. Successful artists may have premium memberships gifted to
* [[
* A running gag on [[Image Boards|4chan]] / [[
* [[TV Tropes]] takes payments from users to take ads off of forum pages, or to get little badges next to a username in the forums.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Advertising Tropes]]
[[Category:Videogame Culture]]
[[Category:
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