The Best Free Steam Games for 2024

Steam is a top PC gaming resource with a vast library of classic games, new titles, and experimental indies. It’s the go-to store for digital game purchases and offers an ever-growing list of free-to-play titles. However, there’s a lot of trash to trudge through before you can find a no-cost treasure. PCMag is here to help you find the diamonds in the rough. We’re fervent gamers who have been covering the space for more than 20 years. So whether you do your PC gaming on a desktop, laptop, or Steam Deck, read on to discover the best titles you can play without spending a cent.

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If you’re a PC gamer who’s thirsty for some Super Smash Bros.-style action, direct your parched eyes at Brawlhalla. The platform-based fighting game tasks you with fighting up to three opponents on floating stages, and attempting to knock them off the platform to score points. Directional inputs change your fighter’s attacks, but, much like Smash, the character movesets are relatively easy to learn.

Brawlhalla has a strong focus on weapon-based attacks, so weapons randomly rain down from above. Brawlhalla rotates playable characters every week, though you can purchase your favorite characters using the in-game currency.  

Brawlhalla (for PC) Review

This hyper-realistic combat simulator delivers one of the most detailed battlefields you’ll experience in video games. DCS World: Steam Edition boasts a shockingly deep learning curve, so don’t expect to simply take control of an airplane (or other military vehicle) and start shooting nerds out of the sky.

Even the most basic tanks, fighter jets, and ships require mastery, to say nothing of the advanced war machines you can pilot. If you’re in the mood for realistic military combat, Digital Combat Simulator World is the game to download.  

In Destiny 2, you and your crew play as Guardians, immortal warriors who travel the solar system taking down interplanetary threats. This sci-fi shooter has seen many changes since its 2017 launch, such as moving to a free-to-play model, adding the Destiny Content Vault, and increasing the planet count. Destiny 2 is one of the most action-heavy MMOs that you’ll find on PC, so it could be your bag if you dig Call of Duty.

Dota 2 is an excellent MOBA, and one that’s exclusive to the Steam platform. The game pits two teams of five players against one another, with the goal of destroying the rival squad’s base.

Dota 2’s play systems have a steep learning curve, so you’ll have plenty of content to explore. All Heroes are available from the jump, so you can keep your cash in your wallet unless you really want to deck out your characters with new skins.  

Dota 2 (for PC) Review

From Zenimax Online comes the only MMO that takes place in the best-selling Elder Scrolls franchise. Set a thousand years before Skyrim’s events, ESO lets you visit majestic locations from the series’ lore and take part in legendary events.

In it, you can explore Morrowind’s swamps and alien environments, Summerset’s sun-drenched isle, and Skyrim’s snow-covered peaks. In terms of storytelling, Elder Scrolls Online is one of the stronger MMOs, featuring well-written characters and full voice acting.

Space empires rise and fall within the free-to-play Eve Online. This is the king of sandbox MMOs, a game that places you in a cosmos filled with starships, pirates, and player-created corporations.

Truthfully, Eve Online is more of a social experiment than a game, as it forces you to engage with a vast universe of potentially cutthroat existing users merely to survive. If you decide to give it a go, you’ll discover that Eve Online is one of the most rewarding and unique games ever made.

If you want a robust and engrossing multiplayer RPG that doesn’t require a monthly subscription, give Guild Wars 2 a try. Free accounts come with a few caveats, mind you. You have limited character slots, mail, and chat. But it’s a fantastic start considering the price of admission. If you want more, Guild Wars has enjoyed numerous expansions over the years, which you can purchase piecemeal or as bundles.

Lost Ark hacks and slashes its way into the Western market after two years worth of polish and content updates in the international scene.

Smilegate RPG’s free-to-play title features exciting action and 15 classes that don’t adhere to the traditional MMO structure. Each class is designed to deal damage, so don’t expect to see a dedicated healer playing the background. You knuckle up, cast a spell, or grab a sword to defeat the demons hunting for the titular ark.

Lost Ark could use better controller support, but the action-RPG is worth your time (and maybe your money) as you raid and loot.

Lost Ark (for PC) Review

Marvel Snap is a must-download game for any card-collecting or strategy aficionado. You get a title packed with fiercely competitive, yet novice-friendly tactical strategy that everyone can enjoy. The eye candy is just as appealing, with wonderful artwork of Marvel’s iconic heroes and villains. The free-to-play structure makes it easy to start, but be sure to shrug off the urge to spend when you get to higher-level tiers.

Paladins is a character-based shooter similar to Overwatch and Team Fortress 2. Each playable Champion falls into one of four categories, be it front line fighter, damage dealer, support hero, or flanking character.

Paladins features more than three dozen playable characters, and a unique card system that lets you tweak your Champions’ load-outs at the start of a match. Load-outs let you modify your characters’ health, ability cool downs, or movement speeds, adding an engaging and strategic gameplay twist.

If you love Diablo, particularly Diablo II, then you may want to give Path of Exile a spin. You control a single character from a top-down perspective, and raid dungeons and explore caves while wrecking the monsters that impede your mission.

Encampments let you interact with other players, but venturing out into the wild tosses you and your buddies into randomly generated maps filled with loot to collect and beasts to slay.  

This MMO shooter drops you in the middle of a planet-wide war that features futuristic vehicles, explosive weaponry, and battle-scarred environments. There are many offensive options available to you right from the offset, including various class and vehicle types, giving you lots of play styles to choose from.

You can tackle the war alone if you’ve got the courage, but Planetside 2 boasts a beefy player base, so it certainly doesn’t hurt to cozy up with veterans to learn the ropes.  

Runescape is an MMORPG that’s been around for ages: 20 years in fact, and still going strong. Despite its age, Runescape remains popular, receiving frequent updates to keep long-standing fans happy and engaged.

The game found its footing well before the MMO character-archetype trinity (tank, DPS, and healer) became popular, so it uses a rock-paper-scissors system where melee beats range, range beats magic, and magic beats melee. Gameplay is largely a point-and-click affair, but it incorporates a blend of combat scenarios, social interactions, quests, and mini-games. Runescape is easy to get into, and its casual feel and old-school style may engross you enough that you may never want to leave.

A digital, collectible card game boasting eye-catching anime-style artwork, Shadowverse CCG may scratch your game-of-chance itch. It enjoys new updates every few months, which adds new cards and tweaks the game balance.

The core gameplay sees you attempting to strategically whittle down a foe’s defense to zero, or force the enemy to draw from an empty deck. If you’re into card games, or have never tried your hand in one, Shadowverse CCG might just be the game for you.

Smite is a third-person MOBA that pits deities from a dozen pantheons against one another in tight 5 vs. 5, team-based combat. Every playable character has a basic attack, a passive trait, and four special abilities that can be used strategically during a fight.

Like other MOBAs, Smite tasks you with destroying your opponent’s base and towers. Still, its unique third-person perspective makes combat surprisingly dynamic.  

Smite (for PC) Review

Team Fortress 2 took the traditional, class-based tactical shooter framework and expanded it, giving each type a unique character with its own distinct flair and personality. It’s the granddaddy of modern hero shooters like Overwatch 2, and is still extremely popular nearly two decades after its release. Nine distinct classes, excellent game mode variety, frequent updates, and lots of collectibles mean countless hours of shooting fun.

Team Fortress 2 (for PC) Review

War Thunder is a vehicular combat action game similar in some respects to Wargaming’s World of Tanks series. War Thunder offers arcade-style simplified matches, in which two teams of up to 16 players each can pick their favorite war vehicle and mix it up with others.

It also offers highly detailed simulation style battles, incorporating realistic physics, ammo usage, and repair mechanics, which is sure to satisfy your war-gaming hunger.  

Warframe is a stylized, movement-heavy, third-person shooter that can be boiled down to a wonderfully simple premise: robot ninjas fighting in space.

You can play through the mainline story, or tackle side quests, either alone or with friends. Warframe is a time-sink of a game; while its shooting action is solid and the mission-based structure is very accessible to new players, weapons, equipment, and the like will demand significant grinding to earn if you’re a collection-crazed player. Nonetheless, Warframe is a stylish-looking title, so give it a shot if you’re itching for action.  

Warframe (for PC) Review

The World of series is an incredibly popular PC franchise, with World of Tanks Blitz consistently appearing near the top of the Steam’s most-popular list. As far as combat games go, World of Tanks Blitz is simple to get into, as it lacks DCS World’s complex, simulator-like gameplay systems.

If you want some goofy 7-vs.-7, tank-crushing action, World of Tanks Blitz is a recommended title; it contains more than 300 iconic war machines and 26 battle arenas.  

Card dueling games have a strong following on Steam, so it’s only natural that Yu-Gi-Oh! entered the digital space to offer series fans plenty of strategic thrills. 

Duel Links has enjoyed a rather positive reception since its 2017 release, encouraging players to grind for the card deck of their dreams. New decks are introduced regularly, giving players an ever-changing meta to perfect.  

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