The best free-to-play games for 2023

While you will either need a Game Pass subscription or a retail copy of Halo Infinite to play the game’s campaign, the multiplayer component of the Microsoft-exclusive shooter is completely free to play on PC and all Xbox platforms. This latest Halo game from developer 343 takes the game back to the type of tactical, positioning, and skill-based multiplayer that made the older games so beloved. Throwing in some more modern mechanics, like sprint, plus a host of new tools like the incredibly fun grappling hook, this is the perfect way to get back into the Halo experience. Being free to play but also fully cross-platform play means that Halo Infinite‘s player base is incredibly healthy already. You won’t have any trouble finding a match in any of the major game modes, of which all the old favorites are making a return. The battle pass offers tons of reasons to get invested, but even without it the core game just feels so solid and addictive you will want to keep going match after match. Once forge mode gets introduced later in the game’s life, the amount of content will essentially be … well … infinite.

Hearthstone is like Magic: The Gathering, but Arena is Magic: The Gathering. Known for popularizing, if not straight up creating, the collectible card game genre, Magic has a storied history. Although more involved than the other card games listed here, the core premise of Magic is simple. Lands produce mana, which you can use to cast spells, and you can play one land per turn. It’s identical to Hearthstone in that regard, with the only difference being resource management. You actually have to have a land in hand in order to get mana for that turn, whereas most other digital card games handle the mana scaling automatically. Although that may seem like a downside, it really isn’t. The variance in Magic is one of its core tenets, allowing players with a very weak deck to win against very powerful decks if they have the right draw. Like other digital CCGs, Arena is free-to-play, though you’ll have to spend some money to get a proper deck. The best course of action is to choose which format you want to play most. If you’re interested in drafting, you’ll slowly build a collection to put together a competitive deck or two. If you only want to play constructed, where you build a deck from whatever cards you want, it’s best just to buy some packs. Thankfully, Arena dishes out free packs left and right, and with the wildcard system, you can craft whatever extra cards you need. Although buying a competitive deck can get expensive, it’s much cheaper than buying that deck physically, where cards can cost $60 or more apiece.

Though it’s harder to learn than League of Legends and Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm, Dota 2 players will accept no substitute. Unlike League, all 119 heroes are available for free in Dota 2, including the melee-focused Earth Spirit, who resembles an odd mix of the Iron Giant and the Incredible Hulk, and the Invoker, whose appearance is similar to the elves seen in the Warcraft franchise. The game’s combat is hectic, and you’re likely to get beaten into oblivion during your first round, but should the addiction take hold, you might not need to play another game for months to come. The highlight of the game is the massive competitive championship called The International, where players battle for millions of dollars in prize money. You could win — well, if you spend your entire life playing the game, that is.