3. CS: GO

4. Dauntless

5. Destiny 2

Originally a premium product that commanded an excessive price, Bungie’s choice to pass Destiny two in the direction of a stay-service layout has been a monumental success for the cosmic sandbox. While every new enlargement does have a charge tag and the drier months are stored active with season skip content, the free package deal accessible to gamers is a meaty series of storylines and multiplayer action. Currently, Destiny 2’s New Light model offers players get entry to each and every available planet, as nicely as Crucible (PVP multiplayer), Gambit, and Strike activities.

That proper there is a stacked collection of content to dive into, which shines below Bungie’s top-notch interest in detail, action-packed gunplay, and an extended sense of storytelling that every season has added to the game.

6. Dota 2

7. Fortnite

Fortnite may not be the original battle royale, but it’s easily the game that made the genre mainstream, cool, and a pop culture juggernaut. Easily the biggest name in video games today, Fortnite has become a global pop culture phenomenon with its film and music crossovers, game-shaking events, and lucrative gameplay mechanics that many other freemium titles have emulated over the years. Beneath all of that though, there’s still an unbelievably solid game built around the idea of survival, scavenging, and instantly building a two-story condominium whenever someone fires a few rounds in your general direction.

A one-of-a-kind masterpiece that has defined the gaming industry since it became a global success story, Fortnite offers value and plenty of entertainment without demanding a single cent in return. That said, dedicated Fortnite players often do spend money in the store.

8. Genshin Impact

When it was first revealed, most people looked at Genshin Impact and regarded it as a cheap The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild clone. While it’s undoubtedly influenced by one of the best Nintendo Switch games, developer MiHoYo’s gorgeous open-world RPG has established itself as one of the biggest surprises in the free-to-play gaming market. Lush and epic in scale, Genshin Impact mixes the thrill of discovery with the addictive collect ’em-all obsession of Gacha games to create a surprisingly generous package.

Having just recently been upgraded for Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles while adding a new region to explore, Genshin Impact has only become better since it launched last year.

9. Guild Wars 2

It’s been almost a decade since Guild Wars 2 arrived, and in the years since it has gained something more important than just a polished gameplay experience or a regular infusion of new content: a sizable and dedicated audience. Communities are the lifeblood of free-to-play games, and Guild Wars 2 (which wasn’t always a free-to-play game) has servers filled with thousands of players at any given moment in time. That makes for a game that lives up to its MMORPG title, and with gameplay that feels gameplay within the core experience, it’s no wonder that fans are still invested in this title.

10. Gwent

Gwent was a fun diversion in The Witcher 3, but as a fully-fledged spin-off that has evolved over the years, the current product is one of the best games built around collecting cards, building strategies, and seeing how far they’ll go in actual competition. Easy to learn and hard to master, Gwent’s popularity boils down to a number of factors. Every card looks like it was produced during a forgotten magical era of the Renaissance, it’s generous with all the free cards that it hands out, and the various arenas to play in will keep you hooked for hours.

11. Hearthstone: Heroes Of Warcraft

Online card games had been around in some form or another for years before Hearthstone came along, but Blizzard’s Warcraft spin-off quickly became one of those rare titles that redefined just what a game in a specific genre could be. Not satisfied with just being a well-engineered card game with addictive tabletop tactics, Hearthstone was a constantly-evolving showcase of ingenuity. It also helped that it looked like a million bucks, each card unleashing dazzling special effects on a living board that could only have been designed in a Blizzard lab.

Years later, Hearthstone and its massive library of cards still remain the pinnacle of the genre and a major influence on the world around it.

12. Heroes of the Storm

If Hearthstone is a pitch-perfect entry into the world of tabletop gaming from Blizzard, then Heroes of the Storm is a quirky twist on the formula created by various MOBA games over the years. The difference here is that Heroes of the Storm is a celebration of all things Blizzard, resulting in absolutely wild combinations of classic characters as they battle for control of the map. It’s a solidly built title with a strong cast, plenty of variety, and excellent game modes to experiment with.

13. League of Legends

Every king has a rival, and for years now Dota 2’s position as one of the biggest giants in the MOBA landscape has been threatened by League of Legends. While the Riot Games-developed title hasn’t committed any regicide just yet, it has come close to usurping Dota 2’s throne and in recent years, its pop culture footprint has begun to eclipse its main competition. Outside of that slugging match though, League of Legends is still a titan that provides excellent entertainment to the beat of its own drum, as well as some of the finest esports competition on the planet.

14. Path of Exile

Even with a sequel on the horizon, Grinding Gear Games’ original stab at old-school RPG adventuring still stands as a brilliant and compelling game of isometric dungeon-crawling. While it had no shortage of bugs when it first arrived, Path of Exile in its current state is a mature and more focused venture into dark fantasy. Though it still has some lingering issues, its content has been a thrill and expansions such as Echoes of the Atlas have grown its free-to-play world substantially.

15. Planetside 2

Planetside 2 has always felt different to other games on the market, due to its colder nature, more obscured systems for getting the best out of the game, and brutal opinion on how fragile each player should be when they spawn into an arena. But look past those factors, and you’ll find a game that has been beloved by its audience since 2012 for providing unique gameplay moments within its world. Fresh content such as the Chimera and Javelin updates have kept players engaged, and when you first hop in it won’t be uncommon to see hundreds of people going to war against each other.

16. Pokemon TCG Online

If you’re tired of adults ruining the hunt for new Pokemon cards, its digital equivalent is a much more relaxing alternative without any scalpers lurking in the shadows. Everything that you could possibly want from the world of Pokemon’s trading card game is here, as there are plenty of cards to collect, decks to build, and real people to battle. It’s a versatile platform of card trading that provides plenty of content for free, but it won’t be around for much longer with TCG Live on the horizon. And if you collect the physical cards, too, you get a code with each pack to unlock a digital pack. Pretty cool!

17. Smite

How do you create a distinct identity in a genre that has no shortage of competitors vying for control of audience eyeballs? By creating a MOBA game that’s all about seeing which fictional deities can rise to the top of the scrap heap. Smite doesn’t stray too far away from the formula pioneered by games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends, but it still stands tall with its constant updates, attention-grabbing character collaborations, and popular modes that are perfect for newcomers.

18. Splitgate

What if Halo met Portal, and the end result was a well-armed child that was poised to take over the esports FPS scene with its slick ideas? That child does exist and its name is Splitgate, a game that has proven to be more than a flash-in-the-pan experience where death can come from any angle via teleporting bullets. Splitgate is a marvel to see in action as cunning players use their portal technology to perforate spines, and the free-to-play beta on PC and consoles boasts an excellent amount of content. It took a couple of years to catch on, but Splitgate is now a certified powerhouse in the free-to-play shooter genre.

19. Team Fortress 2

14 years after it was first released, Team Fortress 2 functions like an old pair of sweatpants in the gaming landscape. Faded when compared to its glory days, but undeniably comfortable to slip into when you’re in the mood for an uncomplicated session of team deathmatch. Thousands of people still play the game regularly, and even though it may have a persistent problem with spam-toting bots on its servers, Valve’s wacky FPS is still a certified classic that’s freely available whenever you’re in the mood for old-fashioned fun.

20. Warframe

It may look like Destiny if David Cronenberg designed it, but Warframe is still one of the best free games on the market today. A unique blend of action, exploration, and meat grinder enemy encounters, developer Digital Extremes have constantly evolved the world of Warframe while adding content that fans have asked for, creating a lean and meaningful experience in the process. It has starships and glorious gear to equip, chunky weapons, and lethal blades to collect while interacting with a dedicated community of fans. It should be stated that Warframe is a bit overwhelming at the start, but if you stick with it, you’ll find a highly satisfying loop.