Developers distributed shareware —rudimentary or partial versions of games like Doom —via floppy disks to encourage later purchases. Gaming magazines also included physical demo disks to showcase upcoming titles.

Searching for "free" versions of paid games (piracy) often leads to dangerous consequences: The Rise of Free-To-Play in the Gaming Industry | by Jay Lu

The free-to-play model, pioneered by companies like Nexon, removed the initial "paywall". Modern blockbusters such as Dota 2 , Apex Legends , and Warframe are fully accessible for free, generating revenue through optional in-game purchases like cosmetics.