Free-to-play games have risen in prominence in recent years, flooding the market with titles that you can sink dozens if not hundreds of hours into without spending a thing. With so many games and so much variety, it can be daunting to sift through the catalogue and pick one to play. If you’re playing on PS5, we’ve collated some of the best choices for free-to-play games in 2023.
Each of the PS5 games below are free to start playing, but some of the aspects of these games may cost money. Things that aren't part of the base free game often include expansions and cosmetic upgrades.
See our guide to the best PS5 deals for discounts on new games and more ahead of PS5 Black Friday deals.
Fortnite
An unsurprising entry for the list, Fortnite is a mega hit that continues to take the world by storm. This stylized battle royale game has a variety of game modes to participate in to test your skills, an ever evolving map to explore, live event spectacles, a robust creative community, and hundreds of original and licensed IP crossover cosmetics. There are plenty of other games like Fortnite worth playing, but the original is still worth diving into.
If you're a big music fan, Rock Band developer Harmonix released Fortnite Festival, where you can play along to hit songs with friends or solo. The game is looking to get instrument controller support in January 2024.
Apex Legends
Another prevalent battle royale on the market, this FPS from Respawn continues to grow and evolve with frequent updates adding brand new characters (Legends) to play as, each with their own unique abilities and playstyles.
With so many Legends to choose, Apex Legends is one of the most versatile action-shooter gameplay experiences out there right now. This is the perfect Battle Royale for anyone who loves the looting and fast pace of Fortnite, but might be longing to fill a more distinct role in your squad.
The Apex Legends x Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth crossover event was announced at The Game Awards, and it will launch January 22, 2024.
Genshin Impact
The action RPG from miHoYo provides hundreds of hours of content to play as you explore the fantasy world of Teyvat. Build up a party of varied Genshin Impact characters with unique abilities to defeat powerful enemies and solve challenging puzzles. Complete with a compelling single-player campaign, there’s something for everyone! Genshin Impact’s Version 4.2 update is available now.
See our list of games like Genshin Impact for more like this.
Destiny 2
The legendary looter shooter from Bungie became free to play in 2019. With the base game available to everyone, it’s never been a better time to become a Guardian and begin combating the Darkness. With consistent updates and major expansions throughout each year, there is more than enough to keep you coming back time after time. Most recently, the Lightfall update brought additional paid content to the game. Destiny 2: Lightfall - Season of the Deep is available now for fans of the game.
Destiny 2’s upcoming DLC, The Final Shape, has been delayed to June 4, 2024 following the latest round of mass layoffs at Bungie.
See our guide to Destiny 2 Free game content after Lightfall to see if it's worth playing in 2023.
Astro’s Playroom
A break from the live-service titles thus far, Astro’s Playroom from Team Asobi is pre-installed on every new PS5, meaning you’ll have instant access to this adorable but incredibly fun and competent platformer as soon as you boot up your console! As a loving homage to PlayStation’s history and making full use of all the new Dualsense controller features, this short but sweet title should be one of the first PS5 games you play on the console.
Warframe
This third-person RPG from Digital Extremes has grown and evolved to the point of it being near unrecognisable to its more basic beginnings. With deep customization, build optimization, regularly released Warframe armors, and an insanely simple but compelling gameplay loop, Warframe is a title worth testing out for the dashing mechanic alone!
Warframe: Whispers in the Walls is set to release in December 2023.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Call of Duty’s prestige battle royale game, Warzone 2.0 has rotating Seasons bringing new Operators, weapons, maps, gameplay mechanics, and more to players who drop solo or in squads onto Al Mazrah or the newish Ashika Island map.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is available now.