Offworld Trading Company's multiplayer mode is going free for everyone

If the life of a Martian mogul sounds intriguing but you're not quite ready to commit to it wholeheartedly, an upcoming multiplayer client update for the interplanetary corporate warfare RTS Offworld Trading Company might be just the thing. It will enable players who don't own the game to play it anyway—against each other—for free.

The free multiplayer mode will be released alongside new DLC called Market Corrections, which digs into the story of why Earth needed to colonize Mars in the first place. (In case you're not able to figure it for yourself out by watching the news, I guess.) It will add three new single-player campaigns featuring three unique CEOs, along with 12 new maps based on real locations on Mars.

Alas, while the Offworld Trading Company multiplayer update is free, Market Corrections is not: It'll set you back $4 on Steam. Both are set to come out on February 28.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.