Marketing an MMORPG as a family-friendly game may turn away some gamers. There's a connotation to that "family-friendly" label that if it's good for kids it's not any fun for adults. Free Realms is currently boasting over four million subscribers and not all them are adolescents. Adults can find fun in the game and even a lover of MMORPGs can find a good time within Free Realms.

I believe what's fun for kids can be fun for adults. It's true of Free Realms as a whole, but when broken down there are aspects of the game that some may find underwhelming. One feature of Free Realms usually cited as lacking for older players is combat. Because of the family-friendliness all combat is instanced in order to make combat optional. You don't have to take up any of the combat jobs in Free Realms and you will never be forced to participate in combat if you don't want to.

In most MMORPGs, combat is your core; the epicenter of gameplay. You engage in combat to level up, you level up to become better, you become better to play a part in expanded content, and all the while you're completing quests. Without combat the traditional MMORPG almost ceases to function. In Free Realms it's optional and that's the root of why it seems inadequate on the surface.