10 Best Free-to-Play Games on Steam (2024)

With over 100,000 different titles to choose from on Steam, figuring out what to play next can be a daunting task. It can be even more tempting not to pick a new game, and wait for one of Steam's iconic seasonal sales for a nice hefty discount.

So why not pick a game that can't be discounted because it costs nothing at all? Steam has a ton of excellent free-to-play games that provide hours of content at no cost to the players, and are some of the best games on Steam, period.

10 Destiny 2

A solar system of possibilities awaits

3.5/5

FPS

OpenCritic Reviews

Released

August 28, 2017

Developer(s)

Bungie

Publisher(s)

Bungie

See at Steam

With over seven years of content to play through, Destiny 2 keeps bringing more and more content for its players. While yes, there are paid DLC packs where the majority of new content is found, non-paying players still get to reap some of the benefits (new planets and select missions, just to name a few).

An infinitely replayable FPS with a hefty player base makes Destiny 2 one of the best choices on the market for free-to-play gaming. Fans of looter-shooters, sci-fi, MMORPGs and online co-op should give this title from the creators of Halo a shot.

9 Star Wars: The Old Republic

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Not to be confused with the classic BioWare RPG Knights of the Old Republic, SWTOR is a beloved and densely-packed MMORPG set in the Star Wars universe. What makes The Old Republic stand out in the sea of other MMORPGs? Role-playing takes a front seat, with your choices affecting what happens to your character, your missions and the world around you.

In terms of character creation, a wide variety of Star Wars archetypes are available to choose from including Jedi Knights, Sith Inquisitors, Republic Troopers and Bounty Hunters. Fans of the Star Wars franchise should consider this title a must-play, with over a decade of content and support for the game being implemented so far.

8 OpenTTD

Tycooning for the masses!

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This open-source remake of the 1995 classic Transport Tycoon Deluxe is still one of the best tycoon games on the market two decades after its initial release. The charming isometric graphics are just the cherry on top of endlessly-great business management gameplay.

Support for the game is still ongoing, with April 2024 marking the release of OpenTTD's 14.0 update. There is also a vast amount of mods being constantly created for the game, thanks to its dedicated and passionate community.

7 We Were Here

Puzzling two-player co-op

Both players are separated, trapped in mysterious rooms, unable to see each other, equipped with only a pair of walkie-talkies to communicate with. This simple idea has spawned one of the best puzzle franchises in recent memory, starting with the 100% free title We Were Here.

We Were Here combines co-op puzzlers with Escape Room mechanics (and a bit of spooky horror atmosphere to top it off), creating an enthralling and immersive puzzle experience for both players. Just try not to scream at each other too much.

6 Multiversus

The only game where Lebron fights Jason Voorhees

4.5/5

Fighting

Released

August 15, 2022

Publisher(s)

Warner Bros. Interactive

See at Steam

The Warner Bros. catalog gets the Super Smash Bros. treatment in Multiversus, the free -o-play fighting game that spans characters from WB's vast collection of TV and Film properties. With a roster featuring the likes of Superman, The Iron Giant, Beetlejuice and Steven Universe, there hasn't been a crossover game with as much potential as this one.

Having a (legal) free-to-play alternative to Super Smash Bros. is nice, especially in a sea of full-priced Smash clones in the gaming industry. The game succeeds best in its attempts to distance itself from Smash, focusing in on co-operative 2v2 combat to create a unique fighting experience.

5 Counter Strike 2

It's probably the most played game on Steam when you're reading this

4.0/5

FPS

OpenCritic Reviews

Released

September 27, 2023

See at Steam

Originally released as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Counter Strike 2 is the most popular game on Steam. And that popularity is for good reason: the classic 5v5 bomb defusal gameplay is perhaps the purest example of PC multiplayer shooter greatness.

The game also boasts other game modes, including a battle royale mode and other classic FPS modes. Be warned, though: Counter Strike is not for the faint of heart, so be ready for a fairly steep learning curve (we'd also recommend considering the "mute" option for your more "vocal" teammates).

4 Apex Legends

Battle Royale in the Titanfall universe

Set hundreds of years after the mech-based warfare of the Titanfall series, Apex Legends sees teams of bloodthirsty mercenaries compete in a battle royale to the death. Class-based first-person shooting meets the classic Battle Royale formula, with developer Respawn's trademark movement-based combat taking center stage.

Apex Legends is a fast and competitive FPS with tons of replayability, as well as a healthy selection of game modes to choose from. Battle Royale is obviously the star of the show, but the game's 3v3 elimination-style game mode is a blast to play with friends. There is also a constantly-changing rotation of team-based modes available to play from the home screen, ranging from Gun Game to Team Deathmatch.

3 The Finals

Blood, sweat, and bullets

The Finals is the chaotic (and deadly) game show of the future, pitting four teams against each other in all-out battles across ever-changing environments. The game brings in tons of new ideas to the genre of first-person shooters, with cool tech and fresh objective-based game modes mixing up the formula.

Destructible environments, class-based loadouts, movement-shooter mechanics and random mutator events are just a few of the things that make The Finals standout as a one-of-a-kind FPS.

2 Team Fortress 2

Now without bots (excluding Mann vs. Machine)

Thanks to recent updates cutting down on the notorious plague of bots and hackers, Team Fortress 2 is one of the best games on Steam once again. The class-based shooter credited with inspiring modern hits like Overwatch and Valorant is still one of the best in the genre, boasting both PvP and PvE options for players.

New content for the game comes in the form of featured maps from community members as well as collectible cosmetic items. But the real charm in TF2 is in its base game, with classic team-based FPS combat spiced up with unique class abilities and weapons.

1 Marvel SNAP

A deck-builder that isn't pay-to-win

The mobile card game so good that fans demanded it be ported to PC, Marvel SNAP is a fast and super-addictive deck-building game using the entire Marvel multiverse as it's canvas. Everyone is here, from fan-favorites like Captain America and Deadpool to deep cuts like Hell Cow and Debrii.

Marvel SNAP puts a fresh spin on the online card game formula by moving the focus from combat to board control, which also allows for even more Marvel references in the form of locations. Plus, matches are limited to six rounds (occasionally seven, if you manage to wind up in Limbo), making games quick and easy to pick up and play.