The best free games on Steam

By Sam Hill and Jesse Lennox Updated January 6, 2025

With consistently lower title costs and regular deep-discount sales, Steam is a bargain gamer’s paradise of free-to-play games. Sales are great, but aren’t completely free games even better? Before you try to snag one of the best PC games on sale or wait for any of the upcoming video games, check out the store’s extensive free-to-play selection for some great gaming experiences that you can jump into without paying a dime.

From cartoon brawlers and Fallout spinoffs to the most popular multiplayer games on PC and tactical first-person shooters, the free-to-play market has hit the point where there’s something for everyone. Most of these titles are built for great multiplayer experiences (and a handful are cross-platform-enabled) — perfect options for groups of friends looking to test out a new game without breaking open their wallets.

We’ve rounded up the best free games on Steam for you so you can jump into a new game without slogging through reviews.

has always gone above and beyond. This game has garnered gameplay from more than 26 million people, with newcomers joining the masses every day to try it out at no cost. Offering a game for free is an excellent marketing strategy to familiarize gamers with their brand, expanding their fan base. There’s not a more exhilarating free game to play with a group of friends, combining the Halo series’s sci-fi aesthetic with the gameplay and fighting mechanics of . “Warframes” are essentially exoskeletal armors that give players unique abilities when worn. Warframes get a lot of acclaim from players because you can customize them, and they are entertaining to use. Find strategies that best utilize your armor’s unique abilities to help you to fight the entire armies that appear in the game’s open-world terrains. Warframe is especially well suited for gamers who want to customize every aspect of their gaming experience.