Best Free to Play Games on Steam

Unlike generic lists, our strategy game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated free to play games. For those who prefer not to search, lists of the most played, top deals and best free free to play games are available at the bottom of the page.

Filters & Lists
Epic Clicker Journey Experience your epic journey. Discover 20 mysterious lands and face the monsters living out there. Show that you are persistent traveler and held your adventure, even in the toughest conditions.

Price Free to play
Rating 6.5
Release 21 Apr 2016
Bloons TD Battles Go head to head with other players in a Bloon-popping battle for victory. From the creators of best-selling Bloons TD 5, this all new Battles game is specially designed for multiplayer combat, featuring the ability to control bloons directly and send them charging past your opponent's defenses.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.9
Release 20 Apr 2016
The Average Everyday Adventures of Samantha Browne An interactive story about a painfully introverted college student who must find a way to make some oatmeal in the communal kitchen of her dorm. One simple task, can you help her complete it?

Price Free to play
Rating 7.8
Release 18 Apr 2016
Lucid9: Inciting Incident Lucid9 is a visual novel focused on a web of intricate mysteries set in the fictional 2018 metropolis of Isamu. Lucid9: Inciting Incident is the first part of the story, focused on a string of disappearances that occur at a prestigious, uppity boarding academy.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.5
Release 14 Apr 2016
Antenna A machine ponders its loneliness. It scans the radio spectrum for an answer to its question.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.4
Release 07 Apr 2016
The Lab Welcome to The Lab, a compilation of Valve’s room-scale VR experiments set in a pocket universe within Aperture Science. Fix a robot, defend a castle, adopt a mechanical dog, and more. Still not sold? It’s free!

Price Free to play
Rating 9.2
Release 05 Apr 2016
The Cubicle. The Cubicle is a short VR experience about your regular everyday job in an office, or is it?

Price Free to play
Rating 8.2
Release 05 Apr 2016
Surgeon Simulator VR: Meet The Medic Surgeon Simulator VR: Meet the Medic – be the Medic and operate on the Heavy in this free and exclusive teaser for the HTC Vive!

Price Free to play
Rating 7.2
Release 05 Apr 2016
Age of Conquest IV Age of Conquest is a turn-based grand strategy wargame.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.9
Release 05 Apr 2016
Tilt Brush Tilt Brush lets you paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Unleash your creativity with three-dimensional brush strokes, stars, light, and even fire. Your room is your canvas. Your palette is your imagination. The possibilities are endless.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.9
Release 05 Apr 2016
IKEA VR Experience Explore and interact with an IKEA Kitchen in Virtual Reality! Walk around freely, open drawers and put your vegetable peelings in the waste sorting station. You can even enjoy the visual impact of different material finishes and experience things from a child’s point of view.

Price Free to play
Rating 6.6
Release 04 Apr 2016
Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds Control a tiny ball of grey goo with the ability to eat anything smaller than itself. The more it eats, the bigger it gets! Eat rats, dinosaurs, gladiators, samurai, pyramids, volcanoes... Everything! Soon you'll be eating the entire planet.

Price 6.59€
Rating 8.6
Release 29 Mar 2016
Tree of Savior (English Ver.) Tree of Savior(abbreviated as TOS thereafter) is an MMORPG in which you embark on a journey to search for the goddesses in the world of chaos. Fairy-tale like colors accompanied with beautiful graphics in TOS will have you reminiscing about precious moments all throughout the game.

Price Free to play
Rating 6.4
Release 28 Mar 2016
MachineCraft The main purpose of this game is showing and watching machines made out of blocks. Some of the game-modes allow you to battle or race against other players. (testing phase) You can create your original machine with ease by reassembling those machines that are distributed, or by using the automatic control block.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.4
Release 25 Mar 2016
The Descendant In THE DESCENDANT, the end of the world is only the start. With what remains of humanity protected in underground Ark facilities, your mission is to keep survivors alive, while discovering a far greater conspiracy buried within Ark-01.

Price 14.99€
Rating 8.6
Release 24 Mar 2016
Lost girl`s [diary] A group of girls are having their vacation, alone. What would a group of girls do on a dark Christmas night? Of course, fortunetelling! Unfortunately for them, their boyfriends are not about to leave them alone and their sudden visit totally ruins their plans for fortune telling, turning it into a scary story contest.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.8
Release 24 Mar 2016
Spell Fighter VR [Old archival game] An FPP fantasy VR demo made in 2016 to test Vive's motion controllers. Works only with HTC Vive and was never upgraded to work with other VR controllers after they eventually released. It was always a free, hobby project.

Price Free to play
Rating 6.6
Release 23 Mar 2016
Mimpi Dreams Help Mimpi save his friends by peeing on everything in his path in this sequel! No seriously, you save Mimpi’s progress by peeing on checkpoints in this game. Platform through six different worlds of puzzling dreams in this dog adventure. Chill in this trippy, casual illustration come alive.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.9
Release 22 Mar 2016
Jesus Christ RPG Trilogy A Role-Playing Game where you can play as Jesus Christ and the Apostles in turn-based battles

Price 5.89€
Rating 8.2
Release 18 Mar 2016
Black Rose Equipped with a flashlight, investigate an abandoned funeral home that's said to be haunted. Find out what really happened to the people who once worked there, and hope that this dark, eerie building doesn't become your final resting place.

Price Free to play
Rating 7.6
Release 15 Mar 2016
Lost Lands: Mahjong Solve many tile sets, quests and adventures to get your prizes and collections. Help the elves to survive on the lost island.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.8
Release 14 Mar 2016
Star Realms Star Realms is a hugely popular space combat deckbuilding game. Download and play today (note: base set is required to play online) to find out why Star Realms is the winner of SXSW 2014 Board Game of the Year, 7 Golden Geek Awards from BoardGameGeek, and 2 Dice Tower awards!

Price Free to play
Rating 8.3
Release 08 Mar 2016
Overload Playable Teaser 3.0 A playable demo of the game Overload, a new six-degree-of-freedom shooter from the creators of Descent. Version 3.0 is from April 2018.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.8
Release 07 Mar 2016
CUPID - A free to play Visual Novel "Love is both poison and cure, both knife and remedy." Set in 18th Century France, this is a gothic romance tale about loss, revenge and the different faces of love.

Price Free to play
Rating 8.3
Release 04 Mar 2016

Most played free to play games on Steam

Take a look at the top free to play games that are currently attracting the largest player bases on the Steam platform, as of June 17th 2025.

1. Dota 2

Every day, millions of players worldwide enter battle as one of over a hundred Dota heroes. And no matter if it's their 10th hour of play or 1,000th, there's always something new to discover. With regular updates that ensure a constant evolution of gameplay, features, and heroes, Dota 2 has taken on a life of its own. Dota 2 is a free to play, moba and multiplayer game developed and published by Valve. Released on July 09th 2013 has received 2,498,969 reviews of which 2,037,143 were positive and 461,826 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.1 out of 10. The game has hit the top spot as the #1 most played free to play game, thanks to its 318,989 peak concurrent players over the last day.
8.1
2,037,143
461,826

318,989
players

2. Bongo Cat

Bongo cat needs your help. Bongo cat needz more hatz!!! Every time you press a key, Bongo cat will punch your taskbar. Type, click, play, work to collect more points. Which hats will you find? Bongo Cat is a cats, free to play and casual game developed by Marcel Zurawka and published by Irox Games. Released on March 05th 2025 has received 23,425 reviews of which 22,904 were positive and 521 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.6 out of 10. While seeing 144,832 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #2 among free to play games based on player count.
9.6
22,904
521

144,832
players

3. Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero Team-Based PVP Shooter! Assemble an all-star Marvel squad, devise countless strategies by combining powers to form unique Team-Up skills and fight in destructible, ever-changing battlefields across the continually evolving Marvel universe! Marvel Rivals is a free to play, multiplayer and hero shooter game developed and published by NetEase Games. Released on December 05th 2024 has received 287,569 reviews of which 228,817 were positive and 58,752 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.9 out of 10. While seeing 89,839 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #3 among free to play games based on player count.
7.9
228,817
58,752

89,839
players

4. Path of Exile

You are an Exile, struggling to survive on the dark continent of Wraeclast, as you fight to earn power that will allow you to exact your revenge against those who wronged you. Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. The game is completely free and will never be pay-to-win. Path of Exile is a free to play, dark fantasy and action rpg game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. Released on October 23rd 2013 has received 235,091 reviews of which 209,822 were positive and 25,269 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. With 89,430 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #4 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.8
209,822
25,269

89,430
players

5. Banana

Banana is a clicker Game, in which you click a Banana! In Banana you click the Banana to gain even more Bananas! Every 3 hours, you get dropped a banana. Each banana is also made by the community in discord. Come hang out with us and let's grow into something awesome ! Banana is a free to play, clicker and singleplayer game developed by Sky, AestheticSpartan and O'Brian and published by Sky. Released on April 23rd 2024 has received 89,834 reviews of which 73,975 were positive and 15,859 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.1 out of 10. With 84,611 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #5 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.1
73,975
15,859

84,611
players

6. Apex Legends™

Apex Legends is the award-winning, free-to-play Hero Shooter from Respawn Entertainment. Master an ever-growing roster of legendary characters with powerful abilities, and experience strategic squad play and innovative gameplay in the next evolution of Hero Shooter and Battle Royale. Apex Legends™ is a free to play, battle royale and multiplayer game developed by Respawn and published by Electronic Arts. Released on November 04th 2020 has received 994,979 reviews of which 668,053 were positive and 326,926 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.7 out of 10. With 50,089 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #6 spot among the most played free to play games.
6.7
668,053
326,926

50,089
players

7. Team Fortress 2

Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities. Constantly updated with new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats! Team Fortress 2 is a free to play, hero shooter and multiplayer game developed and published by Valve. Released on October 10th 2007 has received 1,161,472 reviews of which 1,044,264 were positive and 117,208 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.9 out of 10. With 46,105 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #7 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.9
1,044,264
117,208

46,105
players

8. War Thunder

War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea. War Thunder is a free to play, simulation and vehicular combat game developed by Gaijin Entertainment and published by Gaijin Network Ltd. Released on August 15th 2013 has received 757,086 reviews of which 484,469 were positive and 272,617 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. With 37,645 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #8 spot among the most played free to play games.
6.4
484,469
272,617

37,645
players

9. Warframe

Awaken as an unstoppable warrior and battle alongside your friends in this story-driven free-to-play online action game Warframe is a free to play, action rpg and looter shooter game developed and published by Digital Extremes. Released on March 25th 2013 has received 626,503 reviews of which 545,393 were positive and 81,110 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. With 33,938 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #9 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.6
545,393
81,110

33,938
players

10. VRChat

Join our growing community as you explore, play, and help craft the future of social VR. Create worlds and custom avatars. Welcome to VRChat. VRChat is a vr, free to play and multiplayer game developed and published by VRChat Inc.. Released on February 01st 2017 has received 240,355 reviews of which 181,623 were positive and 58,732 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. With 33,158 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #10 spot among the most played free to play games.
7.5
181,623
58,732

33,158
players

Best deals on free to play games on Steam

Discover fantastic savings with the best discounts on a variety of free to play games available on Steam right now, updated on June 17th 2025. Looking for even more deals? Use the search filters to explore a wider range of discounted free to play games.

1. BattleCore Arena

BattleCore Arena is a free-to-play, peer-to-peer platform shooter where gravity mastery is the key to victory. Compete in quick PvP battles, using weapons and abilities to eject your opponents out of the arena. BattleCore Arena is a free to play, shooter and competitive game developed by Ubisoft Bordeaux and published by Ubisoft. Released on February 04th 2025 has received 381 reviews of which 241 were positive and 140 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.1 out of 10.
6.1
241
140

2. Yume Nikki

This is a game in which you traverse the extremely dark world inside a dream. Yume Nikki is a indie, free to play and rpgmaker game developed by kikiyama and published by PLAYISM. Released on January 09th 2018 has received 8,629 reviews of which 8,120 were positive and 509 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.1 out of 10.
9.1
8,120
509

3. Delta Force

Delta Force is back! The iconic series returns as the definitive free-to-play modern team-based tactical shooter and featuring three distinct gameplay modes: large-scale PvP warfare, intense extraction shooter action, and a remake of the legendary Black Hawk Down campaign. Delta Force is a free to play, fps and multiplayer game developed by Team Jade and published by TiMi Studio Group. Released on December 04th 2024 has received 114,627 reviews of which 72,717 were positive and 41,910 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.3 out of 10.
6.3
72,717
41,910

Free free to play games on Steam

Check out this fantastic list of free-to-play free to play games you can enjoy on Steam right now, updated on June 17th 2025. Looking for even more free titles? Use the search filters to explore a wider range of free to play free to play games.

1. Dota 2

Every day, millions of players worldwide enter battle as one of over a hundred Dota heroes. And no matter if it's their 10th hour of play or 1,000th, there's always something new to discover. With regular updates that ensure a constant evolution of gameplay, features, and heroes, Dota 2 has taken on a life of its own. Dota 2 is a free to play, moba and multiplayer game developed and published by Valve. Released on July 09th 2013 has received 2,498,969 reviews of which 2,037,143 were positive and 461,826 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.1 out of 10. With 318,989 active players enjoying it for free, this strategy game has reached the #1 spot among the top free free to play games on Steam.
8.1
2,037,143
461,826

318,989
players

2. Bongo Cat

Bongo cat needs your help. Bongo cat needz more hatz!!! Every time you press a key, Bongo cat will punch your taskbar. Type, click, play, work to collect more points. Which hats will you find? Bongo Cat is a cats, free to play and casual game developed by Marcel Zurawka and published by Irox Games. Released on March 05th 2025 has received 23,425 reviews of which 22,904 were positive and 521 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.6 out of 10. Thanks to its free to play tag and a daily player base of 144,832, this free to play game has secured the #2 spot in the ranking of free free to play games on Steam.
9.6
22,904
521

144,832
players

3. Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals is a Super Hero Team-Based PVP Shooter! Assemble an all-star Marvel squad, devise countless strategies by combining powers to form unique Team-Up skills and fight in destructible, ever-changing battlefields across the continually evolving Marvel universe! Marvel Rivals is a free to play, multiplayer and hero shooter game developed and published by NetEase Games. Released on December 05th 2024 has received 287,569 reviews of which 228,817 were positive and 58,752 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.9 out of 10. Thanks to its free to play tag and a daily player base of 89,839, this free to play game has secured the #3 spot in the ranking of free free to play games on Steam.
7.9
228,817
58,752

89,839
players

4. Path of Exile

You are an Exile, struggling to survive on the dark continent of Wraeclast, as you fight to earn power that will allow you to exact your revenge against those who wronged you. Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. The game is completely free and will never be pay-to-win. Path of Exile is a free to play, dark fantasy and action rpg game developed and published by Grinding Gear Games. Released on October 23rd 2013 has received 235,091 reviews of which 209,822 were positive and 25,269 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 89,430 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #4 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.8
209,822
25,269

89,430
players

5. Banana

Banana is a clicker Game, in which you click a Banana! In Banana you click the Banana to gain even more Bananas! Every 3 hours, you get dropped a banana. Each banana is also made by the community in discord. Come hang out with us and let's grow into something awesome ! Banana is a free to play, clicker and singleplayer game developed by Sky, AestheticSpartan and O'Brian and published by Sky. Released on April 23rd 2024 has received 89,834 reviews of which 73,975 were positive and 15,859 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.1 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 84,611 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #5 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.1
73,975
15,859

84,611
players

6. Apex Legends™

Apex Legends is the award-winning, free-to-play Hero Shooter from Respawn Entertainment. Master an ever-growing roster of legendary characters with powerful abilities, and experience strategic squad play and innovative gameplay in the next evolution of Hero Shooter and Battle Royale. Apex Legends™ is a free to play, battle royale and multiplayer game developed by Respawn and published by Electronic Arts. Released on November 04th 2020 has received 994,979 reviews of which 668,053 were positive and 326,926 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.7 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 50,089 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #6 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
6.7
668,053
326,926

50,089
players

7. Team Fortress 2

Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities. Constantly updated with new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats! Team Fortress 2 is a free to play, hero shooter and multiplayer game developed and published by Valve. Released on October 10th 2007 has received 1,161,472 reviews of which 1,044,264 were positive and 117,208 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.9 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 46,105 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #7 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.9
1,044,264
117,208

46,105
players

8. War Thunder

War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea. War Thunder is a free to play, simulation and vehicular combat game developed by Gaijin Entertainment and published by Gaijin Network Ltd. Released on August 15th 2013 has received 757,086 reviews of which 484,469 were positive and 272,617 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 37,645 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #8 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
6.4
484,469
272,617

37,645
players

9. Warframe

Awaken as an unstoppable warrior and battle alongside your friends in this story-driven free-to-play online action game Warframe is a free to play, action rpg and looter shooter game developed and published by Digital Extremes. Released on March 25th 2013 has received 626,503 reviews of which 545,393 were positive and 81,110 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 33,938 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #9 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.6
545,393
81,110

33,938
players

10. VRChat

Join our growing community as you explore, play, and help craft the future of social VR. Create worlds and custom avatars. Welcome to VRChat. VRChat is a vr, free to play and multiplayer game developed and published by VRChat Inc.. Released on February 01st 2017 has received 240,355 reviews of which 181,623 were positive and 58,732 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 33,158 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #10 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
7.5
181,623
58,732

33,158
players