Digital devices are a necessary part of modern life, but this doesn’t mean they’re cheap. A good mobile, PC, or gaming console can put a serious dent in your wallet, leaving you at a loss when you want to game. Fortunately, no matter how you like to play, there are cost-effective ways to get started, if you know where to look. From PlayStation to mobiles and beyond, here’s what you need to know.
Console Games
Console gaming used to be one of the most expensive when it came to games, but this is thankfully no longer the case. The PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch systems all offer a variety of free games to play, like Fall Guys, Tetris 99, Warframe, CoD: Warzone, and Overwatch 2.
It’s also worth looking at subscriptions as a low-cost way to build a gaming library. For example, every month PlayStation Plus gives its subscribers free games to claim. These games will be accessible as long as your subscription is active, so over time you can build a huge selection at just a fraction of the cost of buying games outright.
PC Gaming
PC gaming comes out of the gate strong thanks to a library that dates back decades. Many of these games can be purchased for very little, or even be legally free in some circumstances. For more modern titles, you can also start with free-to-play games like the ones you’d enjoy on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch.
For more fully fledged free games, we can’t overlook what the Epic Games Store has delivered over the years. To compete with Steam, Epic routinely cycles through full-priced games of AAA quality for users to freely claim. These include such mega-hits as Death Stranding, Saints Row 4, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Borderlands 3, and titles on Android too.
We’d also recommend that PC players keep an eye out for special bundle packs as popularized by the Humble Bundle. These routinely pop up to support charities and can include games for a fraction of their retail prices, or hundreds of indie titles for less than $20.
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Mobile Games
Mobile gaming is perhaps the easiest place to accidentally discover low-cost games, as a great many of them operate from a free launching pad. These are commonly supported by optional in-app purchases, which if implemented well, revolve around non-essential items like skins.
Mobile gamers can also engage with monthly subscriptions like the Google Play Pass or Apple Arcade. This function is the same as a game pass on PC and consoles, where a huge range of new and established titles are available for a small monthly fee, instead of many larger individual costs. Players can enjoy the likes of Stardew Valley, Cut the Rope or Titan Quest among hundreds of other titles.
If you don’t mind touch controls or traveling with a controller, we’d also recommend mobile users consider emulation as a way to try out a wide range of free titles. As long as you already own a copy, or the game is no longer being sold by the publisher or developer, then it is legal, and there are thousands of games from the PS1 era onward to choose from.
No matter how and what you like to play, low-cost options are available to every gamer out there. Just remember that many of these are timed, and to get the best results, you might want to keep checking each month or week to see what’s new. Other than that, you now know all you need to, so good luck, and happy gaming.