As an avid gamer and online security expert, I keep a close eye on gaming industry trends. The Epic Games Store has made massive waves since launching in 2018, thanks largely to its incredible free game offerings. I‘ve played and thoroughly enjoyed many of these myself.
In this guide, I‘ll share my top 9 recommendations for the must-play free games on Epic Store right now. I selected these based on a combination of factors – critical & player reviews, popularity, variety, gameplay quality, personal experience, and more.
Here‘s what you need to know:
Overview: Why Free Games on Epic?
The Epic Games Store shook up the PC gaming landscape dominated by Steam with cheaper game prices and a weekly rotation of free titles. Sometimes these are limited-time giveaways, while others remain completely free once claimed.
This free-game strategy helped Epic acquire millions of customers quickly. And for gamers, it provides easy access to titles that would normally cost $20-60+ elsewhere.
For developers, having a free game promoted on Epic Store helps exponentially boosts visibility, player counts and long-term revenue. It‘s a win-win arrangement.
Below I‘ve summarized need-to-know info on each pick + why it stands out:
1. Fortnite Battle Royale
- Developer: Epic Games
- Release: 2017
- Genre: Battle Royale
- Unique Selling Point: Massive popularity, frequent live events & updates, accessible gameplay with high skill ceiling
If you haven‘t heard of Fortnite, you must not internet much! Since exploding onto the scene in 2017, it‘s become nothing short of a global gaming phenomenon.
The free-to-play Fortnite Battle Royale mode has captivated millions with its casual-friendly cartoonish last-man-standing action. But behind the vibrant visuals lies intense gunplay and strategic building mechanics with nearly limitless skill growth potential.
Here‘s why Fortnite BR remains one of gaming‘s titans:
- Peak concurrent players: 16.3 million (2022)
- Total registered accounts: Over 350 million (2022)
- Hours viewed on Twitch (2022): 2.1 billion (~15% of total)
- Won Best Ongoing Game at The Game Awards (2021)
With Epic‘s unlimited resources and constant flow of new in-game narrative events, weapons, cosmetics and collaborations, Fortnite continues to feel fresh season after season.
No other shooter comes close in terms of cultural permeation and sustained popularity with casual and competitive gamers alike. And since Epic makes the game themselves, Fortnite Battle Royale will remain 100% free forever.
2. Genshin Impact
- Developer: miHoYo
- Release Date: 2020
- Genre: Open World Action RPG
- Unique Selling Point: Beautiful anime-style graphics, vast explorable world, frequent major updates
This free-to-play goliath took inspiration from Breath of the Wild to create arguably the most appealing anime RPG experience ever seen. Despite some monetization around "gacha" characters, Genshin Impact delivers so much engrossing adventure that you‘ll never feel pressured to spend money.
Here‘s a sampling of what‘s helped Genshin generate nearly $3 billion to date:
- Two fully explorable regions packed with quests
- 40+ obtainable characters to mix and match abilities with
- Dynamic real-time combat with elements like Electro and Dendro
- Co-op support to adventure with friends
- Treasure hunting, profession upgrades like cooking, hangout events and conduits for expressing your creativity via teapot home customization
- Tower defense horde mode added, continually expanding endgame
With miHoYo investing heavily into this open fantasy world, Genshin Impact will only grow more gargantuan as the seasons pass. Every new region reveal generates palpable excitement within the gaming community.
And since it‘s free to enjoy 100+ hours of adventure, there‘s zero barrier to entry. Genshin deserves a spot installed in every gamer‘s library.
3. Rocket League
- Developer: Psyonix
- Release Date: 2015
- Genre: Sports/Racing Hybrid
- Unique Selling Point: Easy to learn, nearly impossible to master. Fluid fusion of soccer gameplay and high-flying cars
Rocket League might boast the purest "easy to pick up, difficult to put down" formula in all of gaming. The premise sounds ridiculous on paper – play soccer with high-flying, rocket-boosting vehicles. But lightning did strike gold with this ingenious fusion of two unlikely genres.
The controls are simple enough that anyone can jump into a match and have fun right away banging the oversized ball around. But dedicating time to master advanced mechanics like off-the-wall aerials requires serious skill.
With a passionate professional esports scene, millions of dedicated players and constant updates from Psyonix, Rocket League shows zero signs of slowing momentum 7+ years post-launch. And now that it‘s permanently free-to-play, there‘s no reason for you not to get in on this modern multiplayer masterpiece ASAP.
Prepare for just one more game to inevitably turn into 10 when you realize it‘s 2am. Ask my dark eye circles and they‘ll concur wholeheartedly.
4. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
- Developer: Mediatonic
- Release Date: 2020
- Genre: Action/Party Game/Battle Royale
- Unique Selling Point: Takes the battle royale structure and injects vibrant humor and family-friendly chaos
Fall Guys resonated instantly with millions as a welcome Silly Goose Game-esque palate cleanser from today‘s prevalence of gritty shooters.
There‘s just something innately hilarious about watching a scramble of 60 bumbling, colorful blob-people shoving desperately towards success in hilariously hapless physics-driven struggle sessions. Courses like Big Fans, Hex-A-Gone and Jump Showdown seem intentionally designed to maximize delightfully dumb failure.
Accessible to all ages and backgrounds, Fall Guys became a zeitgeist-transcending title that offered uncomplicated, unadulterated fun. And though updates lapsed for a while after Season 1 concluded, adoption of the free-to-play model combined with crossplay support has injected new life into the fanbase.
Fall Guys continues resonating as the perfect social experience for casual game nights or streaming laughs with friends. It both evokes nostalgia for childhood chaos like Mario Party or Takeshi‘s Castle while trailblazing its own brand of infectious joy.
5. Spellbreak
- Developer: Proletariat Inc.
- Release Date: 2020
- Genre: Battle Royale/Action RPG Hybrid
- Unique Selling Point: Epic magic battles that combine FPS skills with RPG leveling/loadout depth
Battle royales typically revolve around direct first-person gunplay. For something completely different, Spellbreak enables you to unleash powerful battle magic and sorcery as you fight to become the last mage standing.
With six schools of magic – from fiery Pyromancy to shadowy Toxicology and frost, lightning, wind and stone, the potential combinations enable diverse playstyles and experimental build crafting. Levelling up your battlemage by looting scrolls unlocks more powerful talents and class abilities.
Spellbreak deserves praise for continuing to refine its magic mayhem with new limited-time modes and balance changes based on player feedback. It carved out a nice niche that satisfies both FPS and RPG skill progression fans.
If you ever desired to fling elaborate spells in tense duels like a true video game sorcerer, Spellbreak makes those dreams a reality.
6. Rogue Company
- Developer: First Watch Games
- Release Date: 2020
- Genre: Tactical Third-Person Hero Shooter
- Unique Selling Point: Character-driven multiplayer shooter focused on strategy over reflexes with crossplay support
Rogue Company follows in the footsteps of great tactical shooters like Rainbow Six Siege with a varied cast of elite mercs using their unique gadgets to secure objectives. Accessible gunplay combined with lethal abilities enables methodical players to outsmart twitchier run-and-gun opponents.
Choose from shooters like steadfast leader Dallas, French infiltrator Lancer wielding shock darts, and troubled magician Talon wearing a cloak-granting hood, mastering a different playstyle with each.
While still finding its footing in terms of player count and esports aspirations, Rogue Company deserves praise for continually adding new maps, character and quality-of-life updates all for free.
For those longing for the cerebral thrills of competitive shooters like CS:GO but feeling too far behind the skill curve, Rogue Company opens the door the right way – by learning the ropes on an even playing field starting from zero.
7. Saints Row: The Third
- Developer: Volition
- Release Date: 2022 (Remaster)
- Genre: Open World Action-Adventure
- Unique Selling Point: Over-the-top open world carnage balanced with an intriguing crime drama narrative
The Saints Row franchise shares loose DNA strands with Grand Theft Auto‘s urban crime sandbox formula. But where GTA leans serious, Saints Row Quadruples down on unapologetic absurdity.
This remastered version of the series-redefining 2011 third entry puts you in the designer shoes of the Third Street Saints gang‘s leader as their ambitions rapidly expand from street thugs to icons wielding dangerous levels of influence.
Reasons Saints Row: The Third deserves space on your hard drive:
- Hilarious writing combined with darker, grounded crime drama story beats
- Character customization options remain some of gaming‘s wildest
- Steelport is a vibrant city playground enabling nonstop daytime chaos
- Missions like streaking through clubs, rickety skydive shootouts and taking out targets in the most creative ways possible
- Improved graphics, performance and DLC extras make this the definitive Saints Row: 3 experience
If you need some laughter and ridiculous escapist power fantasies after too many self-serious titles lately, Saints Row: The Third provides that perfect outlet.
8. Horizon Chase Turbo
- Developer: Aquiris
- Release Date: 2018
- Genre: Retro Arcade Racer
- Unique Selling Point: Blast processing nostalgia with tight modern controls, stellar electronic soundtrack and phenomenal pixel art visuals
This free racing odyssey transports you decades back to the halcyon days of arcade greats like Outrun. Horizon Chase Turbo nails its inspirations – breakneck sense of speed, vibrant sun-soaked locales and purity of gameplay unsullied by loot boxes or FOMO manipulation.
It‘s a back-to-basics racer focusing purely on the thrills of hitting apex drifts and jostling for first through iconic environments like lush jungles and arid canyons. With plucky chiptune melodies accompanying the journey and local split-screen support for competing with friends, Horizon Chase Turbo nails its retro vision spectacularly.
Don‘t overlook this free gem just because of its throwback aesthetics. Horizon Chase Turbo would have devoured your quarters faster than Ms. Pac-Man back in the day.
9. Team Fortress 2
- Developer: Valve
- Release Date: 2007
- Genre: Hero/Class-Based FPS
- Unique Selling Point: The gold standard of shooter depth through mastering distinct classes with wildly variable playstyles. And hats. Lots of funny hats.
It speaks volumes that after over 15 years since launching, Valve‘s Team Fortress 2 still maintains a healthy player base thanks to irreplicable gamefeel.
Split into two teams – Red vs Blue – clashes come down to effectively utilizing rock-paper-scissors class counters. Charging through as Heavy feels different than calculated Spy backstabs or managing buffs as Medic. Mastering advanced Rocket Jumps as Soldier or perfecting clever Sentry placements as Engineer enables skill expression tailored to your strengths.
Even over a decade past its peak years dominating PC gaming discussions, TF2 just feels so good to play that fans keep returning. Add in seasonal events, charming art style, mountains of silly unlockable cosmetics and continual influx of user-made maps and it becomes an endless free buffet of shooter perfection.
The days of paying $60 for eight hours of interactive entertainment feel archaic considering the wealth of free gaming gifts Epic Store provides.
These nine titles represent just a sample of what you can experience completely free of charge. Genres span battle royales, RPGs, platformers, shooters and more with options catering to all tastes.
Simply creating an Epic account enables instant access to these great games. They‘re yours to keep permanently without strings attached.
I cannot overstate what a win-win this is for gamers and developers alike. More people playing means more long-term revenue opportunities down the road.
So what excuse is left not to dive in? Install a few (or all) of these 9 tempting free gaming delights waiting eagerly for your precious playtime. Your future self busy entertaining the nights away will thank you profusely.
Game on, friends! Let me know which free Epic titles sink the deepest claws into your soul. I‘m always down to squad up with new allies.
