With the Coronavirus going around, a lot of people are stuck at home. With a lot of people out of work, there’s less money for games. So what can we do with lots of time and no money? WE CAN PLAY FREE GAMES! Luckily for you, I’ve played a lot of free games to know the good from the bad. Below are 7 games you can play FOR FREE, that don’t require you to feed the microtransaction machine! And yes, they’re multiplayer, so you can drag your friends along for the ride.

One of the more unique free titles is Maelstrom. In an age of sail fantasy type setting, Orcs, Humans, and Dwarves do battle on the high seas, with a new Undead faction soon to join. There are several ship types to choose from, and many more modifications you can make via upgrades and crew. It’s a battle royale style game, but the sailing mechanics and the sea monster mechanic make it just different enough to stand out. The population is a little lite, but bots fill open slots and the AI is actually pretty decent at the game. You can sail into the Maelstrom on Steam.

Kards is probably the most original of these free to play titles. It is a WW2 themed strategy card game in the vein of Hearthstone and Magic: The Gathering. The attention to detail in this game is incredible. The card art is that vintage WW2 art, the music in game is as well. The sound effects during gameplay are a lot of fun. It’s a very authentic experience, and you can see the developer’s love in every facet of the game. Super wallet friendly, this is another game you can play your heart out without emptying your wallet. Kards is available on Steam.

Speaking of card games and Magic: The Gathering, MTG Arena is a phenomenal digital entry to the hugely popular tabletop card game. It’s free to play, and has a very player-friendly daily system where you get in game currency or cards as rewards for dailies, winning matches, account leveling, and so on. The art in game is incredible, and some of the cards have awesome 3D visual effects when you play them that break up the gameplay in fun ways. MTG Arena is currently available on it’s own launcher or the Epic store.

If massive FPS battles are your thing, then Planetside 2 is your game. Not only does it allow hundreds of players simultaneously, but there is a third faction for three way battles! Planetside 2 can be run and gun experience, or you can join some of the more organized squads for something closer to a milsim. This game has an incredible success story. Releasing in 2012, it is STILL getting updates! In fact the recent Desolation update added skyships for each faction to summon over the battlefield! I’ve not sunk a dime into the game, and still find it very enjoyable. After each battle (about an hour), the server switches to another continent. As a non paying subscriber, you simply load in last. That’s about all you’ll notice going the free route. I can’t wait for their next iteration on this game, or for another developer to take this concept and run wild. A few have tried, but failed, so long live the king! You can drop into Planetside 2 through their own launcher or Steam.

Dreadnought is another Sci Fi go-to for free games. It’s got a pretty active community, even though the game seems to have been in maintenance mode for the last year. Bots fill the empty slots so you never wait too long for a game, this seems to actually keep a decent base of players. The graphics in the game are incredible, and one of it’s biggest draws. The gameplay is pretty intuitive and casual friendly as well, maneuvering giant capital ships over planetary surfaces and space maps. The early and mid tiers shine, while the high tier gets to be pretty one sided. It’s worth checking out for the early tiers though, the amazing planetscapes alone are worth it. Dreadnought is available through Steam.

I was a World of Tanks player, and resisted playing War Thunder for years. Multiple recommendations later, and a brief dry spell in gaming, i’m a convert. The tank portion of the game is definitely superior with more variety and playstyles accommodated. The naval portion does leave a bit to be desired, so don’t uninstall World of Warships just yet. The skeleton of the warship portion is there, so it’s probably just a matter of time. There’s a lot of excitement for aviation in the game, lots of my viewers want to do planes. To contrast, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who enjoyed World of Warplanes at all. Planes aren’t my thing, but if I were to pick one, I’d definitely pick War Thunder because the planes tie into the tanks. You can choose a plane over a tank once you die to add a little spice to your gameplay. I highly recommend this game, even if you already play a World of Warvehicle game. It has quite a bit to offer, and quite a huge playerbase. War Thunder is available via the Gaijin launcher or Steam.

All of these games are actual good games at their core. Not just good free to play games, but good games that are free to play. If you want something new and different, try Kards or Maelstrom. If you want something tried and true, go for War Thunder or MTG Arena. Are you a fan of Sci Fi? Planetside 2 and Dreadnought are for you. There’s something out there for everyone, even that one picky friend that keeps trying to get you to buy the flavor of the week game, but will never play ones that you have. Instead, drag them into one of these free to play games, and remind them free fits their budget, and yours.