When you think of Steam, the first thing that comes to mind is games, and rightfully so. It is home to the largest collection of PC games in the world, but would you believe many of those are titles you can acquire for free? Not everyone knows this, but you can get free Steam Games.
There are several opportunities to attain free games on the Steam platform, you just need the knowledge of where to look and what to do. Once you understand fully, you can enjoy titles on Steam for a long time without ever paying a dime.
How to get free Steam Games
Free games on Steam come in the form of free-to-play titles that make money from in-app purchases, or titles where the base game is free, but the expansions are not. We will discuss the categories in detail below:
- Free-to-play (F2P) Games
- Games that are 100 percent free
- Free game giveaway
1] Free-to-play (F2P) Games
What we have here are games that are designed around a freemium business model. That means the game is released for gamers to play for free, but the developer tries to make a profit by promoting in-game purchases.
For example, players may have the option to acquire a battle pass or loot boxes. In some situations, the game will try to get players to purchase specific items that can be used within the game to increase the chances of winning.
Because of how some F2P games are made, some players may feel pressured to spend money to keep up with others. This is one of the reasons why the free-to-play model is deemed predatory in nature. They tend to target a specific type of gamer because only a small number of gamers pay money for F2P titles, and they do it quite often.
Some of the best free-to-play video games on Steam are listed below:
- Halo Infinite: Hold up, there. You are not getting the single-player version of this game for free, only the multiplayer. There is an optional battle pass along with additional boosters and cosmetics to spice up the experience.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: If you like no-nonsense tactical multiplayer shooters, then you’re in the right place. It is one of the most played games on the platform, and with the recent update, this will not change for a long time to come.
- War Thunder: If you love tank vs tank games, then War Thunder is one of the best available right now on Steam for free. But it’s not all about tanks, but warplanes and other types of ground vehicles as well. The combat is realistic, which means, a single shot can take you out of the game. If you do not spend money on this title, then prepare to grind.
- Apex Legends: This game is from the team that developed Titanfall, so expect some similarities where the gameplay and movements are concerned. It’s a battle royal game for starters, and since its inception, it has managed to garner a pretty decent following.
Read: Free Horror Games on Steam
2] Games that are 100 percent free
There are some games on Steam that are completely free. For example, Destiny 2, is a title where the base game is free but if players want to experience more, they will have to spend on the expansions. There is also a social game known as VR Chat, but as you might expect, a VR headset is required here.
Folks can also play Crusader Kings 2. The base game is free, but the expansions are not, so you can choose whether or not you want to spend or just enjoy the main aspect and move on to the next thing.
Read: Free Strategy games on Steam
3] Free game giveaway
Several times per year Steam has a promotion where games are available at a reduced cost or just downright free. The best way to find these free games is to go on Google News, then search for Free on Steam. If you’re not sure of the Steam Sale dates, then take a look at the following:
- Steam Spring Sale: March 16 to March 23, 2023
- Steam Summer Sale: June 29 to July 13, 2023
- Steam Autumn Sale: November 21 to November 28, 2023
- Steam Winter Sale: December 21, 2023, to January 4, 2024
Read: Best Free Steam Games for Windows PC
Is COD Warzone free to play on Steam?
Yes, you can get the latest version of Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 for free. Reviews so far are mostly negative, but that doesn’t appear to stop players from returning for more every day.
Read: How to redeem Steam Gift Card or Wallet Code
Are a lot of Steam games free?
There are many free games available right now on Steam, though some of the will try to coerce you into paying for in-game items, and quite aggressively at that.