If you happened to open up the store page in the Steam client or glance at their website, you may have noticed that Steam has made a moderately big announcement. Valve’s digital download service now supports Free-to-Play games, which are games that are free to download and play at the basic level; however aesthetic and other upgrades can be purchased via so-called "microtransactions". F2P games on still will be free to download and will not require a credit card to do so.

Steam Now Offering Free To Play Games On Its Digital Download Service - General Tech 2 

Steam seems excited about the new F2P games.

At launch, the service is featuring five new Free-to-Play games including Champions Online: Free For All, Spiral Knights, Global Agenda: Free Agent, Forsaken World, and Alliance of Valiant Arms.  According to the F2P Steam FAQ, games in which you wish to purchase content will be done through the use of your Steam Wallet.  Further, for any Steam account that does not have at least one purchased (non Free-to-Play) game or a funded Steam Wallet will be considered a "Limited User" and will be restricted in the community features that it is able to access.  Specifically, limited users can create community groups, be added as friends, and chat with other users; however, they are not able to send out friend invitations or start chat sessions (a non-limited user must initiate chat).

In adding the new genre to its repertoire, Steam will greatly increase its digital games library and add more options for PC gamers.  One game that I have not played in some time that I would love to see make its way onto the new Free-to-Play Steam selection is a FPS game called Crossfire.  That game was a good example of Free-To-Play done right as even accounts that did not spend a dime where able to stay competitive.  Is there a Free-to-Play game that you would like to see Steam feature, and do you think F2P will add value to the service?  Let us know in the comments.