There’s no price quite like free, is there? In all walks of life, getting something for nothing feels like getting away with a scam, even when it’s far from criminal.
A decade or more ago, a game going free-to-play was a sign that something was either going badly wrong with its player numbers or that it wasn’t good enough to get people to actually pay for it. Now, though, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The model has spawned some of the most successful, dominant games ever released, and there are now more top-quality free games to choose from than ever before.
So, we thought it only right that we help you sift through the mediocre options to find the hidden gems, and the obvious successes, that comprise the very best games to play right now without paying a penny. There are hours of entertainment to be had here, all with a price tag of zero.
To look forward, check outour list of the most anticipated upcoming PC games.
Our pick of the best free games to play today
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Warzone 2.0 might well be the best choice on this list, if only because of how popular it continues to be. It’sthebattle royale game from the Call of Duty franchise. And a free game that pits up to 150 players against each other on its huge map.
It’s a frenetic shooter that rewards skill and patience, and is simply a blast to play, especially with friends. Plus, while it has a Battle Pass system for those who want to pay, there’s nothing at all to stop you from playing it without paying any money at all.
If there’s one single game that exploded free-to-play models into the mainstream, it might just be Fortnite, which gained an absolutely massive player base partly because of its freeBattle Royaleoffering.
It’s now a cultural behemoth that any parent will recognise and is forever expanding its scope and systems to get more complicated, but one thing that hasn’t changed is this: its run-and-gun-and-build gameplay is just as free to access now as it was back then.
Riot’s shooter is not for the faint of heart - it’s very much kin to Counter-Strike, so you should be prepared to face a somewhat steep learning curve.
Valorant is all about precision and timing, and once you start to get familiar with a couple of its heroes' powers and some of the weapons, you’ll see just how tight and competitive it can really be.
Overwatch 2
A more casual shooter, although one that can still get mighty sweaty in competitive playlists, Overwatch 2 takes everything that was good about the first game, makes it free to play, and shrinks the team size by one.
The result is a really good team shooter that has a vibrant visual design and great audio, albeit one that feels like it’s still slightly lacking in content.
The Sims 4
The classic people simulator is finally available to play for free - at least, the base game is. If you want any of the countless interesting expansion packs you’ll have to pay, but that’s no problem.
After all, even without any added content you’ve still got loads to explore, so this looks like an excellent deal for anyone who fancies dabbling as playing god for a while.
Rocket League
We’ve invested countless hours in Rocket League, a physics-based rocket car football hybrid, and were thrilled when it went free to play in 2020.
It’s an addictive but simple game, albeit one with a skill ceiling so high we can barely see the top of it even after years of playing, and also has a thriving competitive scene.
World of Tanks
If you love armoured fighting vehicles and free games then World of Tanks may be the one for you. This is a free-to-play team-based tank shooter which has over 600 tanks to play with and is full of armoured combat thrills. Personalise your tank and go to war!
War Thunder
War Thunder offers it all - claiming to be the most comprehensive free-to-play MMO military game available. With over 500 aircraft to fly, 300 ground fighting vehicles to blast about in and naval vessels to sail too. This is war on a grand scale, with a never-ending experience that just keeps getting better.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact came out of absolutely nowhere to reach huge popularity worldwide - it’s an open-world RPG that takes clear inspiration fromThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but with a character-collecting central mechanic that makes it addictive in the extreme.
You won’t get particularly far without spending a bit of money, but it’s so polished and fun to play that you’re unlikely to mind too much. This is one of the buzziest games around at the moment, so give it a try sometime.
