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 and best free free to play games are available at the bottom of the page.
Filters & Lists
The Jackbox Megapicker
The Jackbox Megapicker is a game launcher for all of your Jackbox games. This free bit of software will allow you to launch all owned games from one convenient location. This means that you will no longer need to switch between Party Packs to start playing the games you love most.
Lots of Cats in Every Moment
“Lots of Cats in Every Moment” is a game where you find hidden cats while romance unfolds!
Mahjong Soul
Mahjong Soul is an online game that adopted the classic Japanese Mahjong gameplay. Here, you can hone your mahjong skills with players from worldwide or spend leisure time with friends, bond with various charismatic characters, and experience an abundance of unique stories.
Havoc
Havoc is an arcade tactical first-person shooter with semi-destructible environments. It offers a variety of game modes, including Bomb Defusal, Team Deathmatch, Free for All, and Gun Game, along with extensive options to customize lobby settings to your preferences.
Galaxy Idle Clicker
Embark on an interstellar journey with Galaxy Idle Clicker! Conquer galaxies, upgrade your spaceship, and face off against a myriad of enemy ships. With engaging minigames, powerful upgrades, GIC delivers an unparalleled idle space adventure. Join the cosmic conquest today and dominate the universe!
Enlisted
In Enlisted, you are not only commanding a single soldier, but an entire squad! This MMO squad based shooter recreates the key battles of the bloodiest war of the 20th century, with hundreds of soldiers, tanks and aircraft taking part in each battle.
Arcanists
Players take turns in a race against the clock, utilising an array of spells to defeat their opponents in battle! Victory is accomplished by becoming the 'last man standing' (or last team) after all other players have been reduced to zero hitpoints.
Battle Grounds III
After 6 years of development, Battle Grounds III (BG3) is the next iteration in the classic franchise which began 17 years ago. Prepare for battle in the American War of Independence!
Illusion Carnival
A lost soul wanders through a whimsical, eerie pop-up book like amusement park. Dive into fun-filled stages, encounter unique characters, fend off spirit erosion, and uncover the park's hidden secrets. The enchanting yet dark Illusion Carnival begins now.
Once Human
Once Human is a multiplayer open-world survival game set in a strange, post-apocalyptic future. Unite with friends to fight monstrous enemies, uncover secret plots, compete for resources, and build your own territory. Once, you were merely human. Now, you have the power to remake the world.
Emoji Clicker
Get ready to dive into the colorful world of emojis like never before! In Emoji Clicker, your mission is simple: collect, upgrade, and dominate with the most diverse and powerful collection of emojis!
Break a Leg
Break a Leg is a series done over YouTube shorts where the top comment got the next addition to the game. Break a Leg is a game where your primary goal is to break your leg. Once you do, you did it. You won. Therefore, there's no more reason to keep playing this game.
Tapple - Idle Clicker
Welcome to Tapple, the idle clicker game where every tap brings you closer to an ever-growing collection of Tapples. Build your empire one tap at a time, discover unique Tapple drops, and experience the rewarding gameplay that keeps you coming back for more.
Sarah's Adventure: Time Travel
This game unearths the essence of adventure by combining elements of exploration and puzzle-solving. The game’s appeal lies in its interactive gameplay mechanics, where your choices dictate the progression of the story.
Egg Surprise
A fun clicker with economic simulation in the penguin kingdom. Obtain rare collections, venture into dangerous dungeons, and build your own civilization!
Screw Drivers
Crazy physics and high-speed races! Craft vehicles cleverly by combining building blocks and mechanical parts to create powerful drivetrains. Unlock new parts, race for the gold, and challenge your friends in multiplayer.
Cats and Seek: Kyoto
👋 Hi folks! In this third series, we will explore Kyoto and greet the cats there 😃 😻 Let's play hide and seek with the cats in Kyoto! ❤️ Can you find them all? ❤️
100 Space Cats
👨🚀🌌Join the cutest space adventure with Cats in Space! 🪐🚀 Explore charming hand-drawn space locations and adorable cosmo-cats on a quest to find 100 hidden kitties. 🕵️♂️❌ Can you find them all? 🕵️♂️🐈✅
The Powder Toy
The Powder Toy is a classic physics sandbox game, which simulates air pressure and velocity, heat, gravity and a countless number of interactions between different substances
Banana & Cucumber
Banana & Cucumber is a clicker Game, in which you click a Banana & Cucumber! In Banana & Cucumber you click the Banana & Cucumber to gain even more Banana & Cucumber!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 April 21st 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 2,470,083 reviews of which 2,013,644 were positive and 456,439 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 337,536 peak concurrent players over the last day.
8.1
2,013,644
456,439
337,536
players
2. 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 264,904 reviews of which 213,442 were positive and 51,462 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. While seeing 180,833 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #2 among free to play games based on player count.
8.0
213,442
51,462
180,833
players
3. 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 casual, cats and clicker game developed by Marcel Zurawka and published by Irox Games. Released on March 05th 2025 has received 6,924 reviews of which 6,686 were positive and 238 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.3 out of 10. While seeing 108,147 players online at once in the last 24 hours, this game is currently ranked #3 among free to play games based on player count.
9.3
6,686
238
108,147
players
4. 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 88,204 reviews of which 72,799 were positive and 15,405 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.2 out of 10. With 108,021 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #4 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.2
72,799
15,405
108,021
players
5. 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 987,640 reviews of which 663,258 were positive and 324,382 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.7 out of 10. With 90,452 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #5 spot among the most played free to play games.
6.7
663,258
324,382
90,452
players
6. 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 1,152,027 reviews of which 1,032,952 were positive and 119,075 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.9 out of 10. With 48,025 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #6 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.9
1,032,952
119,075
48,025
players
7. 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 743,117 reviews of which 473,366 were positive and 269,751 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. With 45,494 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #7 spot among the most played free to play games.
6.4
473,366
269,751
45,494
players
8. 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 621,274 reviews of which 541,215 were positive and 80,059 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. With 43,988 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #8 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.6
541,215
80,059
43,988
players
9. 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 237,151 reviews of which 179,218 were positive and 57,933 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. With 35,258 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #9 spot among the most played free to play games.
7.5
179,218
57,933
35,258
players
10. The Sims™ 4
Play with life and discover the possibilities. Unleash your imagination and create a world of Sims that’s wholly unique. Explore and customize every detail from Sims to homes–and much more. The Sims™ 4 is a life sim, character customization and free to play game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Released on June 18th 2020 has received 167,109 reviews of which 145,918 were positive and 21,191 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. With 34,909 concurrent players in the last 24 hours, the game currently holds the #10 spot among the most played free to play games.
8.6
145,918
21,191
34,909
players
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 April 21st 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 2,470,083 reviews of which 2,013,644 were positive and 456,439 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.1 out of 10. With 337,536 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
2,013,644
456,439
337,536
players
2. 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 264,904 reviews of which 213,442 were positive and 51,462 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. Thanks to its free to play tag and a daily player base of 180,833, this free to play game has secured the #2 spot in the ranking of free free to play games on Steam.
8.0
213,442
51,462
180,833
players
3. 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 casual, cats and clicker game developed by Marcel Zurawka and published by Irox Games. Released on March 05th 2025 has received 6,924 reviews of which 6,686 were positive and 238 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.3 out of 10. Thanks to its free to play tag and a daily player base of 108,147, this free to play game has secured the #3 spot in the ranking of free free to play games on Steam.
9.3
6,686
238
108,147
players
4. 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 88,204 reviews of which 72,799 were positive and 15,405 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 108,021 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #4 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.2
72,799
15,405
108,021
players
5. 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 987,640 reviews of which 663,258 were positive and 324,382 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.7 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 90,452 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #5 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
6.7
663,258
324,382
90,452
players
6. 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 1,152,027 reviews of which 1,032,952 were positive and 119,075 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.9 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 48,025 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #6 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.9
1,032,952
119,075
48,025
players
7. 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 743,117 reviews of which 473,366 were positive and 269,751 were negative resulting in a rating of 6.4 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 45,494 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #7 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
6.4
473,366
269,751
45,494
players
8. 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 621,274 reviews of which 541,215 were positive and 80,059 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 43,988 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #8 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.6
541,215
80,059
43,988
players
9. 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 237,151 reviews of which 179,218 were positive and 57,933 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.5 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 35,258 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #9 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
7.5
179,218
57,933
35,258
players
10. The Sims™ 4
Play with life and discover the possibilities. Unleash your imagination and create a world of Sims that’s wholly unique. Explore and customize every detail from Sims to homes–and much more. The Sims™ 4 is a life sim, character customization and free to play game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Released on June 18th 2020 has received 167,109 reviews of which 145,918 were positive and 21,191 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.6 out of 10. Attracting a solid base of 34,909 players due to its free access, this strategy game has achieved the #10 position in the best free free to play games on Steam.
8.6
145,918
21,191
34,909
players