Although free-to-play games are nothing new in the world of gaming, the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch generation has seen the rise of many more than have been previously available to gamers in the past. While the majority of these are mediocre at best, there are still a handful of games that have broken out and become not only some of the best free games but the best games of the generation as a whole.
For the most part, these games are focused on a multiplayer experience where the revenue comes not from the sale of the game, but the microtransactions found within it, not unlike free-to-play MMORPGs, but provides an experience solid enough to keep players from moving on to other adventures in spite of this.
10 War Thunder (81)
Going through a very long development time, even for a free-to-play game, War Thunder was finally released in its full state in 2016 to fairly decent reviews across the board. Unlike many other war-centered games on the market, War Thunder focuses on vehicle battles on land, sea, and in the air with players controlling the vehicles themselves rather than a foot soldier. Aside from its generally great reception, War Thunder also one a Guinness World Record for the most number of planes in a flying simulator as well as the most number of players on one server for a flight simulator.
9 Dauntless (82)
One of the most recent free-to-play games to be released, Dauntless is most easily described as “free-to-play Monster Hunter“, Dauntless takes a lot of cues from Capcom’s series, as well as the likes of Dark Souls and World of Warcraft, though it stands out for having a unique art direction and monster design that sets it apart from its clear inspirations. Dauntless is also one of the few games to support full cross-platform play, with players on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch all able to play with one another.
8 Fortnite (83)
Arguably the most popular free game on the market, possibly even in the history of gaming, Fortnite‘s fame started out as a side aspect of an otherwise OK game, as its Battle Royale mode exploded in popularity where the base game didn’t. These days, the Save The World side of Fortnite is a largely forgotten aspect of the game and has even been ignored by its developers to an extent.
Despite how many gamers feel about Fortnite, it has been able to keep a rather large player base despite being quite an old game by live-service standards, as many other games with a similar model drop in players very quickly.
7 Smite (83)
One of the many, many MOBAs on the market that has to compete with last generation’s behemoths, League of Legends and DOTA, Smite was able to find a decent player base despite the immense popularity of its predecessors and become one of the better options for those who don’t to dive into the games that started the trend. Although MOBAs have been around for a while, they don’t seem to be slowing down, as even Pokémon are getting in on the action with the upcoming Pokémon Unite.
6 Paladins (83)
Overwatch may be the quintessential online hero shooter, Paladins brings the same level of quality in both gameplay and design as Blizzard’s behemoth title, but without the price tag to go along with it. Although there were many who cried that Paladins was simply riding the wave of popularity that Overwatch was enjoying, that hasn’t stopped Paladins from maintaining a healthy player base and continuing to be a successful free-to-play game despite its stiff competition.
5 Planetside 2 (84)
Although technically releasing at the tail-end of the PS3’s life on PC, this MMOFPS would move to the PS4 in mid-2015 and gain a second wind with console gamers. A sequel and reimagining of the original Planetside, which was also an MMOFPS, Planetside 2 takes the normal arena battles of online competitive shooters and cranks it up to 11, with the game even winning a Guinness World Record for the biggest FPS battle, with 1158 players all battling at the same time.
4 Genshin Impact (84)
The most recent free-to-play game to gain a large audience, Genshin Impact originally saw an enormous backlash from many gamers, who saw it as simply a blatant clone of Breath of the Wild trying to ride on the success of one of Nintendo’s best games in recent years. However, their tone changed drastically when the game finally released, as it was unlike anything they expected.
While many aspects of the game are clearly inspired by Breath of the Wild, the overall gameplay and anime art style is different enough for it to stand out and become one of the largest mobile game launches in history.
3 Destiny 2 (87)
Although it wasn’t originally free-to-play, Destiny 2 would later take the model while still keeping a healthy player base that more often than not drops off significantly for live service games. Taking every criticism of the original Destiny to heart, the sequel proved to be a much more robust and engaging title, fixing many issues players had with the original game, including its lackluster story as well as improving the already great gunplay.
2 Rocket League (87)
The spiritual successor and sequel to the strangely named Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, Rocket League somehow managed to make playing soccer with cars not only a viable and addictive gameplay loop but also improve on the original’s gameplay, as its predecessor wasn’t nearly as well received. Like Destiny 2, Rocket League wasn’t always free to play, but it has since embraced the model while still keeping its impressive player base even years after its release.
1 Apex Legends (89)
Considered one of the true competitors to Fortnite’s stranglehold on the battle royal genre, Apex Legends takes place in the Titanfall universe, though has a distinct lack of large robots to control. Unlike other battle royale or hero shooters in a similar vein, Apex Legends has players fight in groups of three rather than individually, adding a layer of teamwork and strategy that is lacking in many other competitive shooters and helps it stand out from the somewhat overcrowded space of online FPS games.
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