The Best Free-To-Play Games On Steam

Key Takeaways

• Free-to-play games on Steam are a great way to start a new game or try out a new genre without breaking the bank.
• In our list, we’ve included plenty of both single-player and multiplayer options, so everyone can find a cool free Steam game.
• These free Steam games may provide options for additional content with in-game microtransaction purchases, but getting started on them is free.

Though the legacy of players spending hundreds on Steam games or waiting for the highly-anticipated sales each year, there are definitely plenty of free-to-play games on Steam that are more than worth your time. You’ll definitely find the option to pay for additional content within these games, but getting started in a new game is always easier when it’s free.

So whether you’re looking for your next time-sink or just trying to find a fun way to break up your boredom without breaking the bank, here’s our list of the best free games on Steam, ranging from MMOs to classic brawlers.

Updated November 24, 2024 by Jacob Whaling: We’ve added even more free Steam games that have come out recently to this list, further expanding your gaming options!

14 Eve Online

While Eve Online began as a subscription-based game, the developers introduced a free-to-play model in 2016, offering a new window of opportunity for newcomers to this outer space MMORPG that introduced an influx of fresh players.

With subscription-based players being given Alpha status and free-to-play roleplayers labeled as Omega, both factions are able to choose a role and venture out to explore this universe to discover over 5,000 unique systems within.

13 GWENT: The Witcher Card Game

With the legacy status behind The Witcher 3 and the wild reception to Netlix’s television series inspired by it, it’s no surprise to see GWENT, the card game that’s popular in the game, to have become so popular online as well.

Available as a free game on Steam with a promise from CD Projekt Red to receive content updates into 2024, add a dash of TCG to your RPG with these PvP digital trading cards.

12 Brawlhalla

What started off as an indie brawler has taken on a life of its own, with Brawlhalla routinely in combat for the best combat fighting games. Brawlers are one of the most storied game genres, and Brawlhalla puts a fun, fresh spin on a beloved classic.

With space for up to eight players per round and with free-for-alls, casual, and ranked modes, you won’t get tired of kicking some butt with this colorful cross-platform brawler, especially with so many characters to choose from.

11 War Thunder

With tanks, fighter craft, warships, and over 1,000 different vehicles at the center stage in this modern war game, you’ll be putting your favorite war machines against players online in War Thunder, a 2012 combat MMO that featured in the news somewhat recently for one player’s questionable secret-sharing during the game.

While most games focus more on infantry management, your array of vehicles are your primary focus here. It’s a free-to-play Steam game, but be warned about how easy it is to get invested both time-wise and monetarily once you start off for free

10 DOTA 2

One of the most competitive of the multiplayer online battle arena games in our list, Dota 2 can be intimidating to newcomers, but it remains in high standards among the throngs of dedicated players it’s maintained over the years – self-referred to as “the deepest multi-player action RTS game ever made.”

The game has been online since 2013 and still receives regular updates for its player base of over seven million – and if you’ve been around the internet for a while, you may remember the Swedish Eurodance song the first game inspired in the early days of YouTube. Choose a hero and level them up in this endearingly-challenging MOBA.

9 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Deceptively simple at the beginning to lure new players into the more complex layers of skill mastery waiting within, Valve’s much-beloved 2012 multiplayer FPS is still a huge hit as a free-to-play Steam game more than a decade on from launch.

Though you do have the opportunity to pay for Prime Status, which only matches you with other Prime players and offers exclusive rewards, you can jump into CS:GO completely for free. Even now, it still boasts and impressive player base, so you’ll never be waiting long for matches regardless of your account status.

8 Doki Doki Literature Club!

While it might seem like a generic dating sim visual novel when you first look at it, there’s so much more to Doki Doki Literature Club! that almost makes it too good for a free game. From the beginning, you enter the life of four high-school girls by joining their club and spending some time with them.

However, it’s not too long until a few glaring issues start surfacing, bringing out the Psychological Horror aspect of the game. Experiencing this Overwhelmingly Positive game for the first time is a major part of the fun, so it’s highly recommended to go in knowing as little as you can ahead of time.

7 Warframe

Warframe, the parkour space ninja shooter game, initially started off as a troubled project, when the developers self-published it, after traditional publishers rejected their game. Now, Warframe is among the top free-to-play games in the market since its release in 2013. Take control of a race of space ninjas, the Tenno, and work with or against warring factions as solar system mercenaries.

Warframe is perhaps the most generous of the best free games on Steam – even the premium currency in-game, Platinum, can be earned in-game, meaning nobody is gated from certain in-game content regardless of if they’re paying.

6 Apex Legends

First launched in 2019 in the thick of the battle royale craze that swept through gaming, Apex Legends sees players selecting their favorite Legends to play as in squad-based gameplay that exists entirely within the much wider Titanfall universe.

This Hero Shooter very quickly established a name for itself upon release and still sees routine updates and special events several times each year. Choose your favorite character and class, and hop into battle at any point without paying a dime.

5 Destiny 2

While it’s indeed free to play Destiny 2, its explosive expansion, Lightfall, does cost, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fall in love with the base game itself. The 2019 first-person shooter puts you into the shoes of a defender of a solar system being overtaken, and it’s up to you to save the Last City.

Players can choose whichever gameplay mode is best for them, between a co-op mode that allows you to assemble a team and a competitive PvP scene that still has regular events.

4 The Sims 4

It’s a surprise to see this one end up on here, after such a long lifespan, but in 2022, The Sims 4 base game became free to play on both the EA app (formerly Origin), as well as on Steam. Granted, this is just the base game – none of the dozens and dozens of expansion packs that have been released since launch about a decade ago.

That said, you’re still welcome to purchase the DLC packs for The Sims 4 – the game gives you every opportunity both on Steam and in the in-game menus. Expansion packs are the fullest and most expensive, while kits are the least costly but also the sparsest in content.

The base game is still completely playable without any DLC, though –
I just think it’s a slightly incomplete experience
, after so much DLC has come out that add careers, seasons, relationship depth, richer life states, and so much more that feels essential after so long.

3 Path Of Exile

Path of Exile is a Diablo-style isometric hack-and-slash game that has been going strong for over 10 years of free content updates. There are several different classes to choose from, the biggest skill tree in any video game, and hundreds of different builds to experiment with.

The game is frequently updated through its Leagues, which offer new mechanics and gameplay elements that change up the game. If you want a game you can easily sink hundreds, if not thousands of hours into, Path of Exile will be your go-to.

2 Throne And Liberty

At first, Throne and Liberty seems like a fairly standard MMORPG, and for the most part, it is. Rather than choosing a class, you decide your own class based on which two weapons you equip, and you can change them on the fly. This, combined with the massive open-world multiplayer events set Throne and Liberty apart from other MMOs.

Overall, Throne and Liberty is just a solid MMO, which is saying a lot of you’ve been keeping up with the current state of new MMOs, which see most die off after just a few months. Throne and Liberty’s long-term progression and emphasis on guilds will ensure it retains its player base for the foreseeable future, so now is a good a time as any to jump into the game.

1 Deadlock

Deadlock is Valve’s new game that combines the hero shooter and MOBA genres to great effect. The game is still in early development, but it is entirely playable and extremely fun. Battles are six versus six players, where your objective is to push through each lane and make it to the enemy’s base to destroy their Patron.

There are tons of different characters to play as, each with mechanical depth that will take a while to master. Deadlock is undergoing lots of changes as development continues, so the meta is always fresh, so its a great time to learn the ropes.