Best free PC games to play in 2026

For years now, free-to-play (F2P) games have captured a good portion of my entertainment time. True, a big reason for this is they are designed to draw you in and keep you playing, but that doesn’t take away from their fun gameplay, and sometimes great stories, too. And considering the price of PC component upgrades right now, there’s good reason to look for cost-cutting measures, making F2P titles even more appealing than usual.

For my part, I always like to try before I buy, especially having been disappointed multiple times in the past by games that promised a lot but delivered little; I’m looking at you, Anthem. If you feel the same way or just happen to be looking for something new to play, I’ve compiled a nice list of titles that may interest you. To make things interesting, I’ve also omitted known titles such as Fortnite, Warzone, Apex Legends, etc, as these would be stating the obvious. I’m hoping to identify at least one or two that haven’t previously landed on your radar. And don’t forget to share your favourite picks with me on Club386 social media – I’m always looking for suggestions.

Warframe

Developer: Digital Extremes
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic), PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android
Download: warframe.com

Released back in March 2013, Warframe is still a reference in the looter-shooter action genre. The game takes place in a distant future where warrior factions fight over control of the solar system and its planets. You play as a mysterious being awakened from deep sleep, with the ability to pilot powerful biomechanical suits called Warframes. Each Warframe has its own abilities and playstyle, ranging from fast-paced or stealth-focused to ability-driven combat.

Gameplay is centred around fluid third-person combat that blends shooting, melee, parkour, and ability usage. Missions are typically short and objective-based, asking you to sabotage facilities, defend locations, or survive waves of enemies, each of which can be completed solo or in co-op. During these missions, you also collect resources used to craft new Warframes and weapons that can be extensively modded as you progress.

The game has evolved over the years, currently offering over 60 Warframes and some 600+ weapons. Because of this, and the massive world you get thrown into right away, the game can feel quite overwhelming for beginners, but it’s by no means impossible to master over time.

Warframe is often compared to Destiny 2, which shares a lot of similarities. Beyond its gameplay and mechanics, Warframe also offers a surprisingly deep narrative that unfolds as you progress, and the game is regularly updated with new content expansions, helping it remain fresh even after all these years.

Once Human

Developer: Starry Studio
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic), iOS, and Android
Download: oncehuman.game

Once Human is a post-apocalyptic, open-world game with action and survival elements. You play as a survivor in a world where humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction by a mysterious plague. The game does a great job of combining exploration and combat, with an emphasis on actions and their consequences.

In addition to the mandatory PVE, PVP, and huge bosses, Once Human also allows you to collect resources, craft items, and build bases. There are plenty of interesting puzzles to solve and many enemies to defeat. Some bases/special locations also have Far Cry-like completion mechanics where you need to clear them from enemies and grab loot for your efforts. I especially like the feature that allows players to leave helpful messages a la Dark Souls, which can be very handy.

Combat in Once Human mixes a bit of melee, ranged weaponry, and stealth mechanics, giving you the freedom to adapt to the situation based on your gear and playstyle. On top of weapons and equipment upgrades, you also have character perks and specialisations, each offering different boosts. While the game still needs some polish, the overall package is already strong, especially for F2P, with a nice variety of gear, missions, and locations.

Where Winds Meet

Developer: Everstone Studio
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic), PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android
Download: wherewindsmeetgame.com

Where Winds Meet is a massive, always-online, open-world RPG set in ancient China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era. You play as a young martial artist embarking on a journey, exploring the untamed wilderness, abandoned villages, and bustling towns. The game is very ambitious, taking inspiration from modern action RPGs, MMOs, and even dungeon crawlers. There is something for everyone, even base building. The character creation is also very deep with plenty of customisability, including an option to upload a picture or use your voice to generate a face.

Combat is centred around fluid martial arts, swordplay, and special power techniques, allowing you to chain elegant attacks while deflecting strikes. Heck, you can even walk on water. I’m especially keen on the mobility-focused skills such as wall-running and air dashes. Instead of a rigid class-based system, the game gives you wide flexibility to shape your character’s fighting style through skill choices, weapons, and techniques.

Combat aside, Where Winds Meet places a strong focus on exploration and narrative choice. For example, you can interact with many NPCs, uncover political intrigues, and influence local conflicts. The developer claims that the game has over 10,000 NPCs that you can interact with. How’s that even possible, you might ask. Well, this is one of the first games to use AI in a good way. Many of these NPCs can be conversed with via text or voice seamlessly and naturally. They often ask you to help them in some way, and you can answer using natural language instead of pre-scripted dialogue options. Though not quite perfect, this aspect of the game gives us a preview of what we can expect from future releases.

The Finals

Developer: Embark Studios
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox Series X/S
Download: reachthefinals.com

The Finals is a fast-paced, team-based FPS, built around the concept of a televised show. Unlike the majority of FPS games which put two teams against one another, The Finals opposes three teams. This results in some high-stakes matches where the objective is contested on multiple fronts, forcing the team defending an objective to be smart about its engagements.

The game does offer your typical modes, such as 5v5 and deathmatch, but what sets it apart is the Cashout mode, where you need to collect and transport a box to specified places on the map to cash out your gains and secure victory points.

Adding to the action are fully destructible environments, from walls and floors to entire buildings. This creates new attack avenues to counter any camping enemies, encouraging adaptability on top of good combat skills. Depending on how trigger-happy players are with their explosives, hammers, and rocket launchers, the map could end up a pile of rubble at the end of the match. While the maps aren’t as memorable as Counter-Strike’s de_dust2, Black Ops’ Nuketown, or Battlefield 3’s Metro, they fit perfectly with the TV show theme the game is going for.

Players can choose from different body types and loadouts – akin to classes, each favouring distinct playstyles. Each comes with its unique weapons, abilities, and equipment, which feel well-balanced, at least for a non-pro like me. I also like how when an ally dies, you can grab his token and bring it to a safer place before reviving him. This adds a level of strategy where enemies could stop you from grabbing your friend’s token to maintain their 3v2 or 3vs1 advantage. In short, it’s a chaotic multiplayer experience that rewards clever tactics as much as aiming skills.

Rainbow Six Siege X

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic, Ubisoft Connect), PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One & Series X/S
Download: ubisoft.com

Siege X represents a major evolution of the Rainbow Six tactical first‑person shooter series, marking one of the most significant updates in its 10 years of existence. This modernised version of Siege overhauls the game’s core systems with enhanced visuals, deeper tactical gameplay, and expanded accessibility, while adding a Dual Front 6v6 mode that blends area control with dynamic respawns.

At its heart, Siege X remains a good old team-based PVP shooter, demanding coordinated strategy, team communication, and quick decision making, keeping the fundamentals true to the series. Likewise, environmental destruction and intel gathering continue to be pillars of gameplay, encouraging you to think about your engagement strategy before proceeding.

This free version gives you access to three game modes and a full roster of five modernised maps, though you will need to pay for the premium edition to unlock all available operators.

As usual, all operators come with their unique gadgets and roles, allowing you to adapt to the specific requirements of each match. While some of the premium operators get a tad too close to pay-to-win territory for my liking, overall, the free experience is reasonably balanced, meaning you don’t need the help of your credit card to win a game.

War Thunder

Developer: Gaijin Entertainment
Platforms: PC (Windows, macOS, Linux), PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One & Series X/S. There is also a mobile version for iOS and Android
Download: warthunder.com

War Thunder is a military combat game focussed on realistic combined-arms warfare across air, land, and sea. It offers a slew of historically accurate aircraft, tanks, helicopters, and naval vessels ranging from World War II to modern era vehicles – some haven’t even entered service yet. If you like your history, a previous special event allowed control of the first-ever tanks and planes from WWI. Currently, War Thunder boasts 3,049 playable vehicles, so good luck grinding all of them.

The game provides multiple modes, each offering different realism levels, from the easily accessible fast-paced Arcade Battles, to Realistic and Simulator Battles, which focus on accurate physics, ballistics, and vehicle damage models. This gives all players an experience suiting their skill level and game knowledge. However, regardless of the mode you choose, tactical positioning, knowledge of vehicle strengths and weaknesses, and above all, teamwork, are important requirements to achieve victory. Sound a tad too difficult? You might find something less technical in my roundup of best armoured warfare PC games.

War Thunder is undoubtedly one of my favourite F2P games of all time, and I am confident that any military combat fan will greatly appreciate it. World of Tanks could have easily taken this place if not for War Thunder’s gameplay variety. Unlike World of Tanks, which focuses solely on WWII tanks, War Thunder is like a four-in-one package, and soon five-in-one when an upcoming FPS mode exits closed beta. Yes, you heard that right, a first-person shooter mode like Battlefield and Call of Duty, but with a more realistic spin. Even submarines are afoot, having been tested on a previous event but yet to be released publicly. What’s for certain is War Thunder isn’t getting stale.

Skate

Developer: Full Circle
Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic, EA App), PlayStation 4 & 5, and Xbox One & Series X/S, with mobile (Android/iOS) coming later
Download: ea.com/games/skate

A skateboarding game with a somewhat realistic/physics-driven gameplay, Skate is set in an open city designed to encourage exploration and experimentation, with plenty of missions and challenges to accomplish. Being an open-world game, you get to roam the map as you wish alongside other players.

One of its defining features is the unique control scheme, where you use your analogue stick to perform tricks by mimicking real skateboard foot motions, resulting in natural-feeling controls. This makes both simple and complex trick combinations feel earned. The sound effects are also detailed, capturing a nuanced array of audible cues, from the hiss of spinning wheels to the friction of plywood on metal bars.

While the hardcore fans of older (paid) Skate games would argue that this instalment isn’t a worthy sequel to their beloved series, for an outsider who didn’t play Skate 1 to 3 back in the Xbox 360/PS3 era, I find it fun. I mean, aside from the annoying, constantly talking voice assistant, and the cringy character dialogues. Yes, the game isn’t without its flaws, but as far as I know, there is no free alternative that comes close. Not to mention that it’s still in the early access phase, so it’s too early to throw it in the bin.

Darkenstein 3D

Developer: Rowye
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Download: digitalrowye.com

Darkenstein 3D is a retro-style FPS inspired by classic boomer shooters like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom. It offers a modern twist on these early 3D graphics, adding modern lighting effects and weapon physics. The game is still technically basic compared to your run-of-the-mill FPS, but the chaos‑driven combat is as you would expect from a Wolfenstein-like shooter. Fast and unforgiving, there is no aim assist or cover system, and success depends solely on your reflexes and shooting precision.

If you’re just after a bit of fun, the game doesn’t take things seriously; you play as the Hobo Guy, a drifter stranded deep behind enemy lines during World War II. The story revolves around your dog Gunther, who has been kidnapped by Axis soldiers. As you might have guessed, you go on a mission to free him, but upon entering the enemy base, you discover that things aren’t normal. In addition to Axis personnel, you find yourself in front of zombies and other undead creatures. With no alternative options available, you take whichever weapons you can lay your hands on and start blasting.

Your main objective is to fight through waves of enemies across 13 handcrafted levels, from caves to castles. For a solo-developed game, Darkenstein 3D is simply amazing. And did I mention it is 100% free with no microtransactions, battle passes, or any paid content that could stop you from enjoying the experience? A truly fantastic option for those looking for a nostalgia kick; if you have a couple of hours to spare, I strongly recommend trying this one.

Upcoming Games

While all of the above are available to try right now, there’s plenty on the F2P horizon, too. Release dates are murky at best, but here are four more titles I’m intrigued to learn more about in 2026.

• Aniimo (aniimo.com): A creature-catching game that resembles Pokémon, where you capture, train, and evolve magical creatures called Aniimo. The game is open-world, giving you the freedom to explore its beautiful environments while engaging in PVE and PVP combat using your Aniimos. It feels closer to Pokémon than Palworld.
• Ardem (playardem.com): An upcoming survival game with a persistent 64km² open-world where your actions matter in the long run. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where you need to explore and scavenge to survive. From crafting tools and weapons to hunting wildlife or growing crops, the game promises a lot.
• Ananta (anantagame.com): An open-world action RPG that blends elements of urban exploration with quests and activities, ranging from mini-games and dynamic everyday world interaction to scripted missions and enemy bashing. Based on what we saw on the gameplay reveal, it looks a lot like a mix between GTA V and Spider-Man, wrapped in coloured anime graphics.
• Path of Exile 2 (pathofexile2.com): The long-awaited Diablo killer that has been promised to turn F2P when development ends. Originally planned as a DLC for Path of Exile 1, it evolved into a full-fledged title that continues the dark fantasy saga of its predecessor, where you battle corruption, ancient powers, and hordes of horrific monsters. The game is accessible early for those who buy the supporter pack, but at launch, it will be available for free with optional purchases.

That’s your lot, folks. I hope there’s something in the list you enjoy, but at the very least, these games won’t cost a penny to try.