The best free PC games: 13 picks worth the download

You can build an entire gaming life on PC without paying for a single game. Some of the most played titles in the world, such as Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends and Fortnite, cost nothing to download and play. The real question is not whether good free games exist, but which one suits you, your computer and your patience for in-game stores. This list answers that.

How we chose

• The base game is genuinely free, with no trial period and no purchase needed to play the main mode.
• It is active: it gets updates and people are playing it, because an empty online game is useless.
• The monetisation is fair or, at least, clear. We prefer games that sell looks and convenience, and we flag loot boxes or progression that weighs on your wallet.
• It has an interface or subtitles in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.
• It comes from an official source: Steam, the Epic Games Store or the studio's own website.

Competitive shooters

• Counter-Strike 2 (Valve): the five-a-side tactical shooter that has defined the genre since 1999. Its predecessor, CS:GO, went free in December 2018, and CS2 replaced it as a free update on 27 September 2023. It needs a processor with four threads, 8 GB of RAM, a 1 GB graphics card and 85 GB of space. Interface in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. The money is in skins and in cases opened with paid keys; Prime status, sold separately, unlocks features such as the Premier mode.
• Valorant (Riot Games): a five-versus-five tactical shooter released on 2 June 2020 that mixes Counter-Strike precision with agents who have special abilities. The first team to 13 rounds wins. It only runs with Vanguard, Riot's anti-cheat, which installs a kernel-level driver and usually starts with Windows.
• Overwatch (Blizzard): a cartoon-style hero shooter with five-versus-five or six-versus-six matches. It went free in October 2022 under the name Overwatch 2 and went back to plain Overwatch in February 2026. It is the best localised game on the list: Steam lists full audio in Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish from Spain and Latin American Spanish. It needs 6 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 600 series card.
• Apex Legends (Respawn, published by EA): a battle royale for squads of three, with characters who have their own abilities and very fast movement. It came out in February 2019 and arrived on Steam in November 2020. Minimum of 6 GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 950 and 75 GB of space.
• Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games): a third-person hero shooter with Marvel characters, released in December 2024. It is the heaviest on the list: it asks for 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060. Interface in Brazilian Portuguese and both kinds of Spanish.
• The Finals (Embark Studios): a team shooter in arenas that can be almost entirely destroyed, released in December 2023. It needs 12 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti.
• Fortnite (Epic Games): the battle royale that became a platform, with community-made modes and building. Battle Royale mode has been free since 26 September 2017 and, in the announcement, Epic promised not to sell items that give a competitive advantage. It is not on Steam: you download it through the Epic Games Store.

Arena strategy (MOBA)

• League of Legends (Riot Games): two teams of five fight over a map to destroy the enemy base. Live since 2009, it has more than 140 champions, unlocked by playing or by paying. Like Valorant, it requires Vanguard.
• Dota 2 (Valve): the more complex rival, released in July 2013. Every hero is unlocked from day one, so only cosmetics are sold. It runs with 4 GB of RAM and 60 GB of space, and has an interface in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.

To play at your own pace

• Warframe (Digital Extremes): cooperative third-person action with space ninjas, on Steam since March 2013. Almost everything can be earned by playing, and the paid currency (platinum) can be traded between players, which lets you get premium items without spending. It needs 4 GB of RAM and 50 GB of space.
• Path of Exile (Grinding Gear Games): a Diablo-style action RPG released in October 2013, famous for its huge skill tree. The whole game is free, but many players who stick with it end up buying extra stash tabs, the space for storing items. Minimum of 8 GB of RAM.
• Team Fortress 2 (Valve): the 2007 classic, free since 2011, with nine classes and plenty of humour. It runs on practically any computer: Steam lists 512 MB of RAM as the minimum. Valve says almost every item in the store can also be found by playing.
• Battle for Wesnoth (community project): open-source, turn-based strategy on a hex map, with no store at all and single-player campaigns. It needs 2 GB of RAM and less than 1 GB of space, and is available in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.

Free does not mean costless

Someone pays for a free game, and it is almost always the players who spend inside it. The three most common models are cosmetic items, which change how you look without changing your power; season passes, which unlock rewards as you play; and loot boxes, where you pay without knowing what you will get. The first two are the most transparent. The third works like a lottery, and it is worth setting a limit before you start, especially if the player is a child or a teenager.

There is also the cost that never shows up in the store. Valorant and League of Legends require an anti-cheat that runs at the deepest level of the system; it protects matches, but it is software with broad access to your computer, and installing it is your call. Valuable accounts also attract scams: turn on two-step verification on Steam, Epic and Riot, and never log in on sites that promise free skins.

If your PC is modest

Going by the official minimum requirements, the lightest games on this list are Team Fortress 2, Battle for Wesnoth, Dota 2 and Warframe, which run with 4 GB of RAM or less. At the other end, Marvel Rivals asks for 16 GB and The Finals for 12 GB. Disk space matters too: Counter-Strike 2 needs 85 GB and Apex Legends 75 GB. Minimum requirements mean the game opens on low settings; to gain frames per second, see our guide to graphics settings.

Other ways to play for free, without piracy

• Epic Games Store free games: the store gives away paid games for a limited time. If you claim one before the deadline, it stays in your account.
• Free weekends and demos on Steam: paid games are unlocked for a few days, and festivals such as Steam Next Fest bring together hundreds of demos.
• Games with an official free version: many studios keep a free version or a prologue on the game's own store page.