Upcoming Free-To-Play Games People Are Excited For

Gaming is expensive. Whether someone prefers consoles or PC, they will need to invest a fair amount of cash just to set up their stations. Once the hardware is ready to go, owners will need to turn to their platform’s libraries to pick up some software. Nowadays, Xbox Game Pass and PS Plus grant access to massive selections of games for monthly fees; however, most AAA titles do not debut on these subscription services. Consequently, players could find themselves regularly dropping $69.99 to experience the latest exciting projects.

Free-to-play games sound fantastic on paper and can serve as a way to keep someone entertained in-between premium products. Plenty of titles showcase this model’s potential, and this selection is set to expand significantly over the coming months and years. What are the most highly-anticipated new free games announced for 2023 or beyond?

XDefiant

Ubisoft’s XDefiant seems like one of those games that should already exist in some form or another, and part of the illusion is due to its similarities to other PvP projects on the market. The FPS game brings together multiple Ubisoft franchises, categorizing them as separate factions that come with unique abilities and strengths. Once players pick a character and customize their loadout, they find themselves working alongside a team in arena-style battles set within maps inspired by the publisher’s properties.

XDefiant‘s announcement did not result in too much hype since there are so many free-to-play shooters on the market; however, an open beta helped sell the game’s potential. Even if it is not an especially unique upcoming free game, XDefiant plays very well as it takes some of the best ideas from Call of Duty projects of old.

Star Wars: Hunters

The Nintendo Switch does not get too many console-exclusive free games, particularly involving huge IPs like Star Wars. Hunters is a PvP arena game that blends third-person shooting with melee combat. After picking a hunter, players then form squads to face off against each other.

Star Wars: Hunters has a reasonably impressive roster of fighters, who are split into class types like Tank and Support. Rather than featuring established characters, the game utilizes original creations, although they do fit known archetypes like Rebel War Hero, Wookie Juggernaught, and Bounty Hunter.

Star Wars: Hunters had a soft launch on Android devices in 2021, but the full release is expected to happen in 2023.

UFL

Gaming’s soccer/football scene is set for a shake-up in the coming years. EA has lost the right to use the FIFA name, and the publisher has announced that its next project will be called EA Sports FC. FIFA is also predicted to create its own game, although little is currently known about what that might entail. Last and unfortunately least, Konami’s eFootball 2023 is still struggling to make an impact following a terrible launch.

At the moment, Konami’s title is the main free-to-play soccer option, but it will not exist unopposed forever. Strikerz Inc. has been working on UFL for a number of years, and the upcoming free game has attracted a fair amount of attention. Focusing on online play, the project advertises itself as “fair to play,” with a focus on skills rather than monetization. Soccer fans have deserved a proper alternative to FIFA for a while, and hopefully, UFL fills that void.

Off The Grid

Although not too much is known about Off the Grid‘s moment-to-moment rhythm, the upcoming free game certainly has lofty goals. Despite being done to death, battle royales are still fairly popular, although new properties have struggled to find their place alongside heavyweights like Fortnite, PUBG, and Warzone 2.0. Off the Grid plans to set itself apart from the crowd by pushing its story to the forefront; yes, this will be a battle royale that emphasizes its narrative through an evolving battlefield.

Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9 and Elysium, is working on the cyberpunk battle royale game as its chief visionary officer. Except for directing the upcoming Gran Turismo, Blomkamp is not particularly associated with gaming, but he has shown a talent for bringing to life sci-fi worlds.

Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland

Ubisoft is expanding The Division franchise with a free-to-play title, albeit one that has gone through a few delays. Consequently, Heartland is at the risk of potentially losing momentum, especially since Ubisoft’s recent freebies like Roller Champions did not set the world alight.

That said, The Division is a well-known property that has generally produced decent online-focused games, and 2019’s sequel is still going strong after all these years. Ubisoft has not revealed too much about Heartland, just that the game will include a PvPvE mode that pits 45 players against each other.

Synced

In 2022, Synced: Off-Planet had an alpha test that, while not flawless, went well enough to attract a fair bit of hype toward the game. The sci-fi shooter is a roguelite that features PvP and PvE; the latter arrives in the form of Nanos, which are powerful humanoid creatures that come in a range of forms. These seem to be reasonably fun to fight, but their most exciting feature is that they can be used as companions by players.

Synced‘s playable characters are called Runners, and they each have unique backstories and abilities. They also each have special Nanos. As players will be able to fight in teams of three, picking Runners that have the most synergy could be crucial in matches. Along with multiplayer modes like Dead Sector Run (PvE) and Nerva Run (PvP), Synced will also have a Solo mode.

Wayfinder

With a closed beta set for May 10 and an early access debut for later in the Summer, Wayfinder could prove to be one of the standout free-to-play 2023 games. Airship Syndicate has a fairly good track record with Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Darksiders Genesis, and Ruined King, but Wayfinder is the developer’s most ambitious project to that. The action RPG features a number of playable characters, which will presumably serve as the game’s equivalent of classes; however, it looks like players will be able to swap between characters as they like.

While solo play seems to be on the cards, Wayfinder advertises multiplayer quite heavily, so players will likely be incentivized to venture into the world or dungeons as part of a team. In fact, the title is labeled as an MMO. The game takes place in a world that has become overrun by the Gloom, and it is the player’s job as a Wayfinder to give the last remnants of humanity some hope for survival.

Throne And Liberty

Anyone into MMORPGs has likely heard of NCSoft. The company and its subsidiaries are responsible for Guild Wars 2, Blade & Soul, Lineage, and WildStar; sure, not all those projects can be classified as roaring successes, but they nevertheless showcase the developer’s expertise. Throne and Liberty is shaping up to be among NCSoft’s most ambitious projects to date, especially since the MMORPG has been in development for more than a decade by this point.

Following countless delays, the game has seemingly finally reached a state that suggests a proper release could be on the horizon. In May 2023, NCSoft even opened registration for a Korea-based closed open beta. While not too much is known at the moment, Throne and Liberty should include traditional quests, a weather system, and a mechanic that permits players to transform into animals. PvP also appears to be on the cards.

MultiVersus

Considering MultiVersus was available in early access for nearly a year, describing the game as “impending” almost feels wrong. At this point, anyone interested in Warner Bros’ platform fighter has likely tried it out, so they should more or less know if the game is for them. While not without issues, MultiVersus generally left a positive impression during its open beta; more importantly, the release’s popularity means Player First Games presumably gathered more than enough feedback to fine-tune the package to near-perfection prior to its official release in 2024.

MultiVersus ended its early access run on June 25, 2023, and new players will not be able to download the game until its full debut. However, people who had the title can continue to enjoy its offline’s features like The Lab. Presuming Player First and Warner Bros do not mess with the formula too much, MultiVersus should be one of the biggest free games of 2024.

Blue Protocol

Set to be published by Amazon Games, Blue Protocol is an anime-style JRPG with real-time combat and a weapon-based class system. Announced at the 2022 Game Awards, Bandai Namco’s project promises to offer customization, a large world to explore, multiplayer gameplay, and a detailed storyline.

So far, Blue Protocol has showcased beautiful visuals, fun hack and slash combat, and a good amount of variety via its five classes. As an MMORPG, the game includes dungeons that players will be able to take on either solo or with a team. With titles like Tales of Arise and Scarlet Nexus under its belt, Bandai Namco definitely knows how to piece together a fun action RPG.

Arknights: Endfield

Debuting in 2019 on mobile devices, Arknights is nowadays well established as one of the industry’s most famous projects. It was even successful enough to warrant an anime adaptation, and the franchise looks set to continue its expansion with a spin-off game set on a new planet. Endfield Industries has taken measures to bring civilization to Talos-II, but the world and its locals have been less than welcoming. Set following a disaster that greatly hurt this movement, players step into the shoes of PFRD operatives tasked with taming the alien planet.

Arknights: Endfield looks set to be fairly different from the mainline entry. For one, the spin-off will utilize real-time strategy combat, although exact details on the system’s mechanics have yet to be provided. It is also unclear whether the game will employ gacha mechanics, although that seems likely. More importantly, Endfield will be available on PC, an ecosystem that Arknights has yet to target specifically.

The Finals

Announced in 2022 and launching a PC beta on March 7, 2023, The Finals is a team-based FPS by Embark Studios, a Stockholm-based developer that prioritizes free titles. The Finals looks set to be the company’s debut project, and it should be a worthy addition to the shooter genre. The game pits four teams of three players in matches revolving around collecting and storing cash. Each player customizes a character based on one of three builds, or at least that is the case in the available beta.

The Finals‘ stand-out feature is that the arenas are destructible, which should provide a fair amount of options on how maps can be tackled.

Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders is also one of the most exciting upcoming free-to-play games​​​​​​.

The First Descendant

The First Descendant is a co-op shooter set within Ingris, a fantasy world that finds humanity struggling to resist an invasion by an alien threat known as the Vulgus. As implied by the title, players take on the roles of Descendants, which grant them unique abilities. Ingris is divided into separate maps rather than one large sandbox, and the game will feature world co-op missions along with story missions that act as a standard campaign.

The upcoming free-to-play game plans to offer a range of customization options courtesy of skins, weapons, and equipment. Players will be able to plan their loadouts as they prepare to face off against larger-than-life bosses.

Karlson

Dani has two successful free games under their belt: Muck and Crab Game. Both titles focus on physics-based gameplay, and they are fairly impressive considering they largely stemmed from the mind of a single person. Dani’s next project is Karlson, a first-person shooter that heavily incorporates parkour and speed-running. The eponymous character is a prisoner who must walljump and blast their way through a series of levels en route to a glass of milk.

The creator’s resume and social media presence ensure Karlson would get some attention, but the game also presents a convincing case for meriting this hype. A version of the project can be downloaded for free on Itch.io, and it is quite good.