There is no better price than free. No hidden costs, no fine print, no strings attached. But for the video game industry, which makes $138 billion per year globally, "free" is atypical. Why give away what people put down cash for?
Thankfully, there are lots of free video games out there. Some developers create video games as a hobby and release them as freeware. Sometimes, an indie developer wants to make a name for him or herself and releases a free game to draw attention. A newer trend, which took firm hold in the past decade, is to offer the game for free up front, and subsequently sell power-ups or cosmetic changes.
Fortnite: Battle Royale is currently one of the most popular games in the world. It is available in multiple stores, and free-to-play on all consoles. Lots of MMO games like Star Wars: The Old Republic and Star Trek Online are free-to-play as well.
Here’s how to get free video games on the Internet. And don’t worry: every one of these options is legal.
Classic Reload
This is your one-stop destination for all the Windows and DOS games of your childhood. They’re all loosely classified as "Abandonware," which means that their original, compatible operating systems are obsolete. Want to play the original Wolfenstein 3D or Sid Meier's Civilization? How about Oregon Trail? You can play over 6,000 titles, so long as you're doing so for "education and research purposes."
Free-to-Play Sections Of Online Stores
The Playstation Store, Microsoft Store, and Nintendo Store have dedicated sections for free games. There are also time-limited giveaways on these sites; if you subscribe to the PS Plus service, for example, you receive two free PS4 games each month. You don't even have to download them; just confirm that you want them when prompted, and the games will just sit in your library, waiting for whenever you have a free (no pun intended) moment.
Steam
Steam, a distribution platform for PC and Mac games, is the primary destination for all indie developers who want exposure. Among the breakout hits on the platform are multiplayer battle game Dota 2 and horror-meets-dating-sim Doki Doki Literature Club.
HumbleBundle
Founded in 2010, HumbleBundle is famous for offering bundles of games (mostly indie titles) and allowing players to pay what they want. The proceeds from sales are then split between developers and charity.
The concept is a massive success; to date, the site has raised over $100 million for charity. The company has become a more traditional store in recent times, while still offering bundles under the original conditions.
Free Demos
Lots of developers release free demos of their blockbuster games, months before their actual releases, to generate buzz, work out bugs, and solicit audience feedback. Some of the best titles from the past 12 months have free demos available, including Shadow of the Tomb Raider, A Way Out, Detroit: Become Human and the remake ofResident Evil 2. They'll give you a chance to test drive major titles before spending upwards of $60 on them.
GameFly
It's the Netflix of video games! For a monthly rate, you can have video games delivered directly to your door. If there's a new game you want to play that you can't afford, you can sign up for GameFly's free trial. If you're not feeling the service, make sure to cancel before the 30 days are up.
Orisinal
Founded in 2000, Orisinal.com is a free website of idiosyncratic, artisanal Flash games designed by a single developer, Ferry Halim. There are currently 62 of these creative, affecting games, during which you collect stars out of the sky, catch bumblebees in soap bubbles, or scale the heavens on bell-shaped clouds. For younger gamers who missed these games the first time around, this is a must. And for older gamers, it’s a nostalgia overload that will tug at your heartstrings.
TextAdventures
TextAdventures is a repository for thousands of interactive fiction stories: read, make decisions, and deal with the fallout of those choices. TextAdventures has both classic text games like Zork and user-contributed games. The community rates every game, which helps you separate the best from the rest. You can even download the Quest app and give story writing a try, if you think you can do better.
Be vigilant about checking Reddit for discount deals, free deals, and giveaways. /r/FreeGameFindings and /r/freegames are the two best hubs for this sort of thing. Pay attention to the posted links, and bookmark the good ones for future use.
Kongregate
Open platform Kongregate features over 10,000 free web and mobile games, which can be uploaded by both developers and individual users. The games have unlockable achievements and cover every genre, from racing to tactical RPG to puzzle-based games.
