The Best Free-to-Play Games on PlayStation 5

The PlayStation Store is full of games, and a surprising number of them are free to play. Not all are worth your time, however, so we’ve taken the liberty of rounding up a few of our favorites.

While these are all free to download, be aware that those designed to be played online will need an active PlayStation Plus membership to access online services.

We’ve defined free-to-play to encompass both live service games with optional microtransactions and completely free downloadables that serve as introductions for similar titles and self-contained experiences..

1

Astro’s Playroom

Astro’s Playroom is a colorful 3D platformer that came pre-installed on your PlayStation 5, a free pack-in follow-up to the PSVR hit Astro Bot Rescue Mission. If you ignored and deleted it, you can download it again free of charge from the PlayStation Store. The game serves as a love letter to Sony hardware past and present, and can be finished in around three hours.

The purpose of Astro’s Playroom is to introduce you to some of the core features of the DualSense controller, including the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. To date, it’s still one of the best showcases for this technology, and it’s well worth a play if you have a history with the PlayStation brand. Think of Astro’s Playroom as a demo version of Sony’s follow-up Astro Bot.

2

My First Gran Turismo

My First Gran Turismo is a fully standalone demo version of 2022’s Gran Turismo 7. Arriving two years after the full release, My First Gran Turismo lets you race on three tracks with 18 cars, which you can bring with you into GT7 once you’ve unlocked them (giving even Gran Turismo veterans a reason to play this bite-sized campaign).

It’s enough to give you a proper taste of Sony’s iconic simcade racer, and even features PSVR 2 support for anyone who owns a headset. The game is a great showcase for the PS5 Pro, but also works on the original PS4. It looks great, drives great and features a variety of options for customizing the driving experience for all levels of ability.

3

Enlisted

Enlisted is a squad-based World War II-themed online multiplayer first-person shooter. The game takes place across several different theaters of war, including the Western Front, Eastern Front, Africa, and the Pacific. Each of these is treated as a separate “campaign,” which means your progress doesn’t carry between them.

In Enlisted, you command an entire squad of AI soldiers. You can give them commands, switch between them, and when you die, even take control in a different body. There are a variety of game modes to choose from, lots of classes and vehicles to experiment with, and plenty of fun to be had. I personally had a blast with Enlisted when I sunk plenty of time into it a few years ago, and the game has grown considerably since then.

4

Warframe

Few games have as much free content as Warframe, a third-person shooter with action roleplaying elements that first surfaced in 2013 and that has been growing in complexity ever since. The game features cooperative missions, competitive (PvP) multiplayer, cross-platform play, and an absurd amount of content to work your way through.

The game blends massively multiplayer elements (like large open world areas and player leveling) with procedural generation, fast-paced action, and a seemingly endless development model. Earn items via grinding or choose to pay instead; the choice is yours. The PS5 version has been optimized for the platform to take advantage of the hardware for better visuals and smoother frame rates.

5

Destiny 2

While we’re on the topic of sprawling online multiplayer first-person shooters, Destiny 2 is well worth a look for anyone who likes grinding for loot. Originally released in 2017 as a full-priced game, Destiny 2 went free to play in 2019 and experienced massive success as a result. It has since been under constant development, with more content planned even with developer Bungie’s focus on the embattled Marathon since being acquired by Sony.

Destiny 2 has a fine reputation, despite a few missteps along the way. The gunplay is impeccable, a result of the developer’s ability to combine satisfying and varied weapons with responsive movement. Since cooperative gameplay makes up the bulk of the experience, Destiny 2’s raids are highly celebrated. There’s a lot of content here, a lot of it free, and even more on the way.

6

Marvel Rivals

Even as someone who avoids hero shooters like the plague, it’s hard to ignore the success that Marvel Rivals has had. It’s no longer enough for a free-to-play shooter to rely solely on a licensed property; these games have to be genuinely good to earn a loyal following. Thankfully, Marvel Rivals doesn’t suck like so many others that have entered and abruptly exited the genre.

The developers behind this third-person team-based multiplayer shooter have a reputation for listening to fans and implementing changes. There’s a variety of modes to choose from, including Overwatch-style convoys where one team must escort a moving object through the map. The roster of playable characters is always expanding, with 43 currently announced and new ones added with each passing season.

7

Fortnite

You don’t need me to tell you that Fortnite is a big deal, so how can a list of the best free-to-play titles possibly not include it? This is Epic Games’ flagship title, a testing ground for all things Unreal Engine, and the free-to-play game that other developers look to as an example of the model’s success. Originally arriving as a co-op tower defense shooter titled Fortnite: Save the World in July 2017, the game eventually took off with the release of its free-to-play Battle Royale component a few months later.

Now Fortnite is more than a video game, it’s a platform. The game is always shape-shifting, introducing entirely new modes that change the rules, like non-combat focused co-operative building and rhythm games. Its tie-ins are legendary, and the game has even hosted live-streamed musical performances.

8

Path of Exile

Path of Exile is an action roleplaying game in the style of Diablo that arrived as a free-to-play title way back in 2013. The game received a fair bit of praise at launch and has since improved even more on account of a stream of new expansions. It can be played single player, as a cooperative adventure with a friend, and also features some PvP competitive multiplayer to sink your teeth into if you fancy it.

Set in a dark fantasy setting, PoE invites you to pick a class and embark on a journey through procedurally-generated worlds to defeat hordes of enemies, earning XP and loot as you go. A paid standalone sequel, Path of Exile 2, was released in late 2024 after originally being earmarked as an expansion. This speaks volumes about the original game’s reputation, since not many free-to-play games have managed to inspire fully paid and critically acclaimed sequels like PoE2.

9

The Sims 4

After releasing on Windows in 2014 and Mac in 2015, The Sims 4 received a console-optimized version in late 2017. Five years later, EA announced that the base game would become free-to-play on all platforms. Though the base game received some mixed reactions when it was first released, going free-to-play certainly takes the sting out of some of this criticism.

There’s enough here to keep you busy for a while, even if you probably will run out of things to do and be forgiven for wonder if The Sims 3 was the better game. The reality here is that there’s a fair amount of extra content on offer if you’re willing to pay for it, but you might want to wait for a sales event before you open your wallet. Thankfully, there’s plenty of fun to be had from downloading the base game and creating a few monstrous-looking Sims before you get bored.

10

Silent Hill: The Short Message

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a completely free standalone game that was released in early 2024. The game is available exclusively on PlayStation 5, and billed by Konami as “an all-new, modern Silent Hill experience, powered by the latest in game technology.” It’s a chance to see what future Silent Hill games could look like, and for the publisher to take notes about what fans like.

Be aware that the game deals with some heavy themes including bullying, self-harm, and suicide (this is still a psychological horror game). Though some criticized the game for being heavy-handed and predictable, it also drew some praise, including favorable comparisons with releases like genre favorite P.T.. The whole experience lasts about two hours.