The best hero shooters on PC

By Jesse Lennox Published March 7, 2025

The best PC games come in all genres, but there’s no doubt that FPS games on PC are especially popular. Counter-Strike 2 alone is constantly at the top of Steam’s most played games list, overtaking even the most popular MMORPGs and free games. Within the larger FPS genre, hero shooters are especially beloved. These games combine some RPG elements by giving each character some unique traits and abilities to spice up the normal gunplay. While Overwatch popularized the genre almost a decade ago, tons of excellent hero shooters have come out since that refined and tweaked the formula in fantastic ways. Plus, with most being cross-platform games, you can even play against console players. These are the best hero shooters you can play today on PC.

Don’t forget that there are plenty of upcoming PC games that might be the next big hero shooter.

We mentioned Counter-Strike 2 as easily the most popular FPS on PC, but that is strictly not a hero shooter. Valorant is what Counter-Strike 2 would look like if it did bring in unique heroes, and the result is exactly as good as you would hope. This game comes from Riot Games, makers of League of Legends, so they know a thing or two about balancing characters. The format is almost identical to CS where you purchase weapons, armor, and gear at the start of a round and then either need to attack or defend different points with an explosive. You die just as fast, but can use different active and passive skills to turn the tides of a round. That new wrinkle is just enough to make it feel fresh if you’ve spent the past decade playing CS without lowering the skill ceiling.