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5 Free-to-Play Games We Love

We’ve pulled together a selection of free games so you can start enjoying your new system.

Gaming PCs and game consoles offer hundreds of hours of entertainment, thanks to the breadth of games available these days. They also «offer» hundreds of dollars in additional expenses in the form of new games and accessories. That’s why we recommend checking out free-to-play games, which give you a chance to test out your new gaming machine without all the added costs.

We’ve curated a list of popular free-to-play games from different genres, along with a few alternatives. Keep in mind that there are other ways to get free games, too. The Epic Games store periodically offers the chance to download otherwise paid games for free. Xbox Gold and PlayStation Plus members also get access to a monthly selection of free games for as long as they stay subscribed.

And though they’re not technically free games, there are game subscription services that grant you access to all kinds of games (including console exclusives) for a relatively low monthly price. These services are good deals if you play a lot of games.

Here are our picks for the best free games to play on your new gaming system, whether you’re into shooters, fighters, party games, MMOs or simulation games.

Shooter: Fortnite

Available on: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox

Also check out: Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Valorant (PC only)

Most multiplayer shooters are free to play these days, and we have Fortnite to thank for much of that. Fortnite started as a paid disaster survival game before shaking up the entire video game landscape with its free-to-play battle royale mode. Now the game features various game types, including zero-build, team rumble, party royale and dozens more. And with the game recently moving to Unreal Engine 5.1, it looks better than ever on new consoles and gaming rigs.

Fighting game: MultiVersus

Available on: PC, PlayStation, Xbox

Also check out: Brawlhalla

A recent Game Awards winner for best fighting game, MultiVersus blends the frantic pace of Smash Bros. with more technical fighters for a truly unique fighting game experience. The core game mode is 2v2 battles where the first team to four knockouts wins. Pick from your favorite DC Comics and other Warner Bros. characters, like Bugs Bunny, Arya Stark, Wonder Woman and… Gizmo from Gremlins?

Party game: Fall Guys

Available on: PC, PlayStation, Switch, Xbox

Also check out: Bombergrounds (PC, Mac, iOS only), Stumble Guys (PC, iOS, Android only)

Fall Guys has dropped off a bit from its initial, pandemic-propped hype, but it’s still arguably the best free-to-play party game out there. Run, jump, stumble and fall your way to various objectives in minigames while competing against dozens of comically costumed competitors. If you enjoy Mario Party minigames, Fall Guys offers a similar experience on a larger scale.

MMO: Final Fantasy XIV

Available on: PC, PlayStation

Also check out: Destiny 2 (not available on Switch), Lost Ark (PC only)

Final Fantasy XIV’s free trial has turned into a bit of a meme, but it’s a genuinely great deal — effectively letting you play through the entire base game and first expansion for free. FFXIV has an unusually newbie-friendly player base, and recent updates allow you to play through dungeons with computer-controlled allies, meaning you don’t even have to experience the «multiplayer» part of «massively multiplayer online role-playing game.» Unlike other MMOs, Final Fantasy XIV also lets you play all classes on just one account, giving you even more freedom to play the way you want. Note that the other expansions are paid, and some functions like item trading are locked for free accounts, but there’s plenty to do in the free trial.

Simulation: Sims 4

Available on: PC, PlayStation, Xbox

Also check out: Minecraft

If you’re less interested in saving the world and just want to relax with a game that lets you build things and live your digital life, The Sims 4 is a great option. The game recently became free to play and features dozens of DLC packs to make the game more your aesthetic, whether that’s summery, spooky, school-focused or nearly any other theme you can think of.

Technologies

Google I/O 2025: How to Watch and What to Expect

With Android 16 out of the way, Google I/O will certainly be all about AI.

Google I/O 2025 takes place on May 20 and 21 with Google’s big keynote happening on day 1. We expect Big G to talk about its myriad innovations across its ever-expanding portfolio of products — almost certainly with a huge focus on AI every step of the way. If we collectively cross our fingers, promise to be good and eat all our vegetables then we may even be treated to a sneak peek at upcoming hardware. 

Read more: Android 16: Everything Google Announced at the Android Show

Google also hosted a totally separate event that focused solely on Android. The Android Show: I/O Edition saw the wrappers come off Android 16, with insights into the new Material 3 Expressive interface, updates to security and a focus on Gemini and how it’ll work on a variety of other devices. 

By breaking out Android news into its own virtual event, Google frees itself to spend more time during the I/O keynote to talk about Gemini, Deep Mind, Android XR and Project Astra. It’s going to be a jam-packed event, so here’s how you can watch I/O 2025 as it happens and what you can look forward to.

Google I/O: Where to watch

Google I/O proper kicks off with a keynote taking place on May 20, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. BST). It’ll almost certainly be available to stream online on Google’s own YouTube channel, although a holding video is yet to be available. There’s no live link on the I/O website yet, either, though you can use the handy links to add the event to your calendar of choice. Expect links to a livestream to be available closer to the day.

What to expect from Google I/O 2025

Little chat about Android 16: As Google gave Android 16 its own outing already, it’s likely that it won’t be mentioned all that much during I/O. In fact at last year’s event, Android was barely mentioned, while uses of the term «AI» went well over a hundred. 

Android XR: Google didn’t talk much about Android XR during the Android show, focusing instead on the purely phone-based updates to the platform. We expected to hear more about the company’s latest foray into mixed-reality headsets in partnership with Samsung and its Project Moohan headset, so it’s possible that this is being saved for I/O proper. 

Gemini: With Android being spun out into its own separate event, Google is evidently clearing the way for I/O to focus on everything else the company does. AI will continue to dominate the conversation at I/O, just as it did last year (though hopefully Google can make it more understandable) with updates to many of its AI platforms expected to be announced. 

Gemini is expected to receive a variety of update announcements, including more information on its latest 2.5 Pro update which boasts various improvements to its reasoning abilities, and in particular to its helpfulness for coding applications. Expect lots of mentions of Google’s other AI-based products, too, including DeepMind, LearnLM and Project Astra. Let’s just hope Google has figured out how to make this information make any kind of sense.

Beyond AI, Google may talk about updates to its other products including GMail, Chrome and the Play Store, although whether these updates are big enough to be discussed during the keynote rather than as part of the developer-focused sessions following I/O’s opening remains to be seen.

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Technologies

You Can Now Buy Nike’s $900 Workout Shoes for Compression and Heating

The Nike Hyperboots, designed to help you warm up and recover from workouts, launched Saturday.

Those workout shoes with compression and heating that Nike and Hyperice showed off at CES 2025 earlier this year weren’t just a concept. The Hyperboot is now available to buy online in North America, so they’re within reach, as long as you’re willing to spend $899.

The high-tops, which Nike and Hyperice call a wearable much like your smartwatch, help your feet warm up before a workout, and then recover after it. The shoes do this with heating and air-compression massage technology, taking the idea of heating pads and compression socks and making them mobile.

«You can definitely feel the heat in here,» CNET former mobile senior writer Lisa Eadicicco said when she had the chance to try these workout shoes on in January. She walked across a demo room in Las Vegas wearing the fancy footwear to test out the compression and heating features.

The boots massage and compress your ankles and feet, and in CNET’s test, we could especially feel the heat around the ankles. Buttons on the shoes let you adjust compression and the amount of heat with multiple settings for each.

«The Hyperboot contains a system of dual-air bladders that deliver sequential compression patterns and are bonded to thermally efficient heating elements that evenly distribute heat throughout the shoe’s entire upper,» Nike said.

The battery lasts for 1 to 1.5 hours on max heat and compression settings, or 8 hours if you’re only using the massage setting. It takes 5 to 6 hours to charge via USB-C cable. The boots come in five sizes: S, M, L, XL and XXL.

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Technologies

You’re Wasting $200 on Subscriptions You Forgot About, CNET Survey Finds. How to Put an End to ‘Subscription Creep’

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