Most open world games will rarely be open for free, as this is not a way for developers to easily bring in a stable amount of revenue. Unless their main purpose is to attract a large number of players, then make money through microtransactions within the game. This method of operation has been applied relatively successfully by miHoYo with Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. And on Steam, there are also a number of similar games with quality not inferior to miHoYo's blockbusters.
Warframe
On Steam alone, Destiny 2 and Warframe are the two most notable open-world action role-playing games, and the race to become number one between these two blockbusters also receives a lot of attention. Like the competition between Call Of Duty and Battlefield, each game follows a different style and attracts players with different interests. But for many people, Warframe is much more appreciated for its content depth.
The game allows gamers to choose from more than 30 different Warframes, creating the most diverse class system with countless different experiences. In addition, the game's open world is beautifully designed and has vast content, enough to keep players busy endlessly. This game has a rating of 86% on Steam.
Unturned
Not a new game, Unturned even appeared in 2014 but is still maintaining its remarkable appeal. Not requiring technical specifications, meeting almost every gamer's PC, Unturned attracts players with its relatively strange survival mechanism.
The graphics are not too sophisticated and even remind many people of Minecraft, but the gameplay of Unturned has more of a DayZ feel. Until now, the game is still going strong thanks to the mods as well as the friendly community in the game. Unturned has a rating of 91% on Steam.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
One of the blockbusters most beloved by gamers, Star Wars: The Old Republic certainly cannot be absent from this list. Allowing players to fully immerse themselves in the universe of the Star Wars series, Star Wars: The Old Republic also offers 8 classes for gamers to choose from and notably, each class will have a different story.
Additionally, the game features a variety of PvE and PvP activities spread across more than 20 different planets across the galaxy far, far away, making for an impressive amount of content for even free-to-play players.