I'm sorry, but free for online multiplayer is only a thing for consoles if the game itself is f2p
So you can play apex or ow2 multiplayer on your console for "free" but any other game that isn't explicitly f2p, you will need an online subscription like ps plus/ Xbox live etc
My subscription expired months ago and I play all sorts of games, even some that I downloaded free before my subscription ended that arent in the store anymore. Are those all free to play? If so, what is an example of a non f2p game?
Can you give examples of the games you're talking about?
So free to play games are things like Fortnite, halo infinite, overwatch, etc. Usually multiplayer based games. Even on console, you can play online multiplayer for those games without an xbox live or ps plus subscription.
Most games don't follow this model. Take FIFA for example. You can buy the game and play it on console. But if you want to play online multiplayer, you will need to have an Xbox live/pls plus subscription for that.
Obviously there is nothing like this for pc games. Except for mmos or something like that, online multiplayer doesn't require a subscription.
Sure, here is a list of some games that are still playable and accessible online even though I no longer pay for any subscription:
-Master Hunter World
-Wolfenstein II
-Grand Theft Auto V
-Watch Dogs Legion
-Resident Evil VII
-Last of Us
-God of War
There are a few more, but some I assume fall into that category, like COD. I do get a frequent notice encouraging me to subscribe or I may not be able to access some features or games but I have yet to run into that with existing stuff.
Update, it still doesn't make sense but now I have no access. The moment I signed into the store and bought Baldurs Gate 3, I lost access to all my games offline or on. How I was able to previously play unsigned in is beyond me. Probably accepted some update when signing in and was previously grandfathered into really old terms would be my only guess.
Yeah none of those give me free online access after I cancelled my subscription. You sure you aren't still enrolled through the remainder of your subscription period? If you cancel renewal, you still have access till the end date is up on your previous purchase.
I am not sure what's going on to be honest, I guess I should count myself lucky and hope Sony doesn't catch on. I have no payment linked, so it's not auto-pay and the subscription ended like 2 months ago. I checked my wife's account and she has no subscription linked either. I can't access any new games or content needed with a subscription obviously, but current stuff mysteriously still works... I wish I had downloaded more games, I thought that they would have been inaccessible after the sub ended.
So update! I just had to sign in to buy Balders Gate. Now none of my games work that I previously downloaded, offline or on. So weird. Wish I played through a few of those before connecting.