The popularity of free-to-play games cannot be understated. More than ever before buying a full-price video game feels like a proper investment, with the average for AAA titles being around the $60 mark in 2021. Luckily for thrifty gamers, there's never been a better time to get into high-quality free games.
Some games have no intro purchase but offer a premium subscription, like a Battle Pass, in-game. Others, like certain MMOs, only require one initial purchase to play the game forever (without accounting for paid DLCs and subscription-based bonuses).
8 The Elder Scrolls Online
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The Elder Scrolls Online is a unique MMO for its equal focus on the quality of overworld questing and its endgame. With the Steam edition of the game (or the base edition) the MMO can be played forever without a monthly subscription, though one is available for additional benefits.
While the game is not currently totally free-to-play, as it requires an initial investment, the fact that a popular MMO doesn't require a subscription in 2021 is mindblowing. Casual Elder Scrolls fans can enjoy it, too, as the game offers first-person perspective as well as controller play.
7 Apex Legends
Apex Legends is a free-to-play FPS game that takes place in the Titanfall universe. It's an innovative combination of hero-based deathmatch games like Overwatch and the ever-popular Battle Royale genre that has the movement of Titanfall 2 and the gameplay mechanics of PUBG.
It's a game that seems to never stop gaining popularity season over season. While it can be played completely for free, there is an in-game cosmetic shop and a Battle Pass system for each season.
6 Fortnite
Even among non-gamers, Fortnite is one of the most recognizable games of all time. It's a Battle Royale that seems to never stop changing, most of the time for the better, and puts a particular emphasis on building structures rather than movement as Apex Legends does.
While it gained a level of infamy thanks to the game's ravenous fanbase, it's a game well worth checking out for people who have never tried a Battle Royale. Similar to other games of the genre, Fortnite offers its own Battle Pass system too.
5 Runescape
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Runescape is hailed among PC gamers for its everlasting staying power on the internet, so much so that a special version of the game Old School Runescape is near-permanently locked in the game's 2007 state. It has a membership program that offers new areas, quests, and skills, but most of the MMO is available for free to anyone.
Old School Runescape is dated gameplay-wise and mostly fun for people who actually used to play it back in 2007. Runescape 3, the current iteration of the game, is much more beginner-friendly and offers a bit more for free-to-play players to do.
4 Magic: The Gathering Arena
Magic: The Gathering Arena is a recent online game from Wizards of the Coast that works almost exactly how the seminal card game works in real life. There are even sanctioned tournaments that happen on this online platform, and the depth of cards and interactions programmed into the system date back to the game's very beginnings.
While it's free to play and players can have fun in most of their matches, serious players will spend just as much money on online Magic cards as in real life. The game offers some free boosters here and there, thankfully, and sticking to casual matches usually reduces the number of pay-to-win opponents.
3 Rocket League
For a while, Rocket League was not a free-to-play game. Once Epic Games bought it out, though, it switched over to a free-to-play model with a Battle Pass system for cosmetics. In 2021, the Hot Wheels and soccer formula is still working and the game is more popular than ever.
It's a game that requires a significant level of skill to be great at, but it's also a game that anyone can pick up and understand. It's just driving cars after all, but with a high enough skill ceiling that its competitive scene thrives.
2 Guild Wars 2
Similar to The Elder Scrolls Online, Guild Wars 2 is a buy-it-once kind of MMO but without a subscription at all. There are a few DLCs that can be downloaded, but for the most part, the entire world of Guild Wars 2 is completely open without restriction to all players.
When MMOs first started becoming a popular genre, subscription-based models were all the rage. Some, like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14 still have monthly subscriptions in place. Guild Wars 2 makes a point to avoid this kind of monetization.
1 Roblox
While Roblox isn't the most beautiful game ever made (quite the opposite), there is a ton of variety between worlds and minigames that anyone can get lost for hours. It's a hub of creativity, at its core, as players are able to program and create their own worlds and game modes to then play with others.
It does offer a premium subscription, but this is mostly just for regular Robux income each month rather than specific rewards. As such, Roblox is one of the best free games out there, as its free component is 99% of what's available to everyone anyway.