The best free PC games

(Epitome credit: Grinding Gear Games)

The best gratuitous PC games don't price a penny, just they can however be a lot of fun. These titles run the gamut from shooters, to strategy games, to card games, to RPGs, only i thing they all accept in common is that they're completely gratis.

Gratuitous PC games are actually a dime a dozen (simply cheque the free sections on Steam or GOG, if you lot don't believe me), but finding adept ones is the flim-flam. We at Tom's Guide have compiled a list of the best gratuitous PC games to while abroad the hours, at least until your next large paycheck comes in. Y'all might discover your adjacent big obsession, or you might shrug your shoulders, but either way, you won't have to open your wallet.

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Just be aware that while all of the games on this listing are free, near of them have optional microtransactions available, some of which are extremely expensive. (The developers practice have to recoup their costs somehow, after all.) Some games offering only cosmetic gear for purchase; some offering gameplay boosts. More often than not speaking, I don't spend money on corrective gear, but will spend money on story content that's locked behind a paywall; your priorities may vary. But be cautious about pouring tons of money into any game that offers luck-based "loot box" microtransactions, as these expenses can spiral out of control easily.

The best free PC games: Apex Legends — (Paradigm credit: Electronic Arts)

At that place are a ton of complimentary boxing royale games out there, but for my non-money, Apex Legends is all the same the all-time. Respawn Entertainment's team-based battle royale has some of the best gunplay and movement in the genre, with loads of satisfying weapons and a unique isle arena that's a blast to run, slide and cipher-line around in. With distinct hero characters in the vein of Overwatch, Apex Legends offers a layer of strategy and team-based synergy that other battle royale shooters lack, whether you lot're playing as the run-and-gun Bangalore or the trap-laying Caustic. But Apex's best feature only might be its vivid Ping system, which lets you telephone call out items and enemies on the battlefield without having to verbally communicate with your team. - Mike Andronico

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

Complimentary point-and-click gamble games aren't that difficult to find, but they tend to be either older fare or low-budget labors of love. The Crawly Adventures of Captain Spirit is neither. This standalone spinoff from the Life Is Foreign serial comes courtesy of the developers at Dontnod Entertainment and the publishers at Square Enix. In it, you accept control of a young boy named Chris Eriksen, who envisions himself every bit a superhero — partially to alleviate his colorlessness, and partially to escape his loving-but-alcoholic father. There are quests to complete, puzzles to solve and dialogue options to explore, which lends this brusque game a little replay value. If you like it, you lot can also check out the Life Is Strange series, although that costs money. – Marshall Honorof

Brawlhalla

Brawlhalla is a great Super Nail Bros. alternative for PC players, but it would exist a disservice to imply that's all it is. This platform fighter stands out with its unique weapons-based approach to combat, as each character brings their own gadgets to boxing, and that can change the course of a fight. The game's ever-growing roster of original characters such as Cassidy and Sir Roland is complemented past guest stars such as Rayman and WWE wrestlers, such as John Cena and The Rock. Amend yet, Brawlhalla is cross-play, and then PC players can duke it out with friends on PS4, Xbox One and Switch. - Mike Andronico

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

If it ain't bankrupt, don't fix it — and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ain't broke. This game debuted back in 2012, and even and then, information technology was a reimagining of a Half-Life mod chosen Counter-Strike from 2000. In other words: Counter-Strike is 20 years old, and hundreds of thousands of people nonetheless log on every calendar month to play. Like many gratuitous games, you can buy cosmetic skins for your characters and guns, simply they're not really necessary to relish the game. All you need to know is that CS:GO is a first-person shooter, where you and four other players navigate a mazelike map to shoot downwardly the other team equally many times as possible. Information technology's simple, only it'southward stood the test of time. – Marshall Honorof

Gwent

Did you play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? If and then, so Gwent needs no introduction. If non: Gwent is a competitive menu game that Geralt of Rivia originally played as a side quest in his 3rd hazard. Fans loved Gwent and then much that CD Projekt Cerise expanded it into a whole game, complete with new cards to collect, tons of customization options to unlock and real human players for competitors. The game is costless-to-play and will give you a starting deck, although you're on your own for acquiring more powerful cards. You can do so with real money, only you tin also but compete with other players, earn in-game currency and expand your deck that way. – Marshall Honorof

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The best free PC games: — (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

League of Legends didn't invent the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre, just this game arguably perfected it. In this game, two teams of five players each atomic number 82 pocket-size armies across a map, battling each other across three "lanes" to see who can breach the enemy's base first. It's sort of like a existent-time strategy game, except you're in command of only ane unit of measurement, rather than a whole army. The cool thing about League of Legends is that it offers more than 140 champions, each with their own unique skill sets. Some champions cost money, but there are ever complimentary champions on offering, as well, pregnant you never demand to spend a penny for a varied gameplay feel. – Marshall Honorof

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Path of Exile

Suppose Diablo were gratuitous to play, and that its chief story campaign were incredibly long. That's the basic pitch behind Path of Exile: a hack-and-slash action/role-playing game (RPG) that's completely free to play. You choose from one of vi classes and ready out to conquer ten Acts, each with quests to complete, a town to explore and a huge boss to defeat at the finish. While the game'south microtransactions aren't cheap, they also aren't necessary to complete the game, equally they tend to be for cosmetic purposes merely. The story is fairly intricate, as these things go, complete with a whole fantasy world total of lore, characters and unexpected plot developments. – Marshall Honorof

StarCraft and StarCraft: Brood War

A few years agone, Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered. This update to its classic sci-fi real-fourth dimension strategy game included improved graphics and multiplayer matchmaking, and it's well worth its $20 request price. Nonetheless, if you don't heed low resolutions and old-school multiplayer options, you lot don't have to spend a penny to play StarCraft and its Brood War expansion. Around the aforementioned time that Remastered came out, Blizzard released the original StarCraft for gratis. I've always suspected that this was partially to entice new players to effort information technology out, and then pay money for the Remastered version. But either mode, it'south quite a bargain for i of the greatest RTS games of all fourth dimension, particularly since you lot go six meaty story campaigns, with more than than 50 missions to consummate. – Marshall Honorof

Credit: Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

Star Trek Online

Accept you already blown your fashion through Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Picard? Does yet another Side by side Generation marathon concord no entreatment for y'all? Then Star Trek Online should be your next voyage into the terminal borderland. This free-to-play MMO picks upwardly thirty years afterwards the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, and casts you as a Federation, Klingon or Romulan captain in a turbulent galaxy. Unlike many other MMOs, which burden y'all with endless fetch quests, Star Trek Online structures each one of its arcs like a season of a TV show, complete with discrete "episodes" that take between 20 and forty minutes to play through. You'll get to customize your send and crew, and bask cameos from Star Expedition legends like LeVar Burton, Jeri Ryan and the late, bully Leonard Nimoy. – Marshall Honorof

Star Wars: The Old Republic

I couldn't include the Star Expedition MMO in this story and non discuss its equally good Star Wars counterpart. Star Wars: The Former Commonwealth is an odd duck, fifty-fifty in the canonically confusing Star Wars universe. Information technology started life every bit a semi-sequel to the two Knights of the Old Democracy games, but some parts of the story take shown upward in the new Disney canon as well. In any case, this costless-to-play game lets you create your ain Star Wars graphic symbol — a Jedi Knight, a trooper or a smuggler, amongst others — and experience an original story gear up iv,000 years before the original Star Wars trilogy. Yous'll become to customize your graphic symbol along the way, including choosing between a Light Side or Dark Side path. – Marshall Honorof

Credit: Electronic Arts

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Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site'southward coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing groundwork, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of scientific discipline and technology. After hours, you tin can find him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.