Owners of the Xbox One looking to try something new should check out the following free-to-play games, each of which offers intense, action-packed gameplay without forcing newcomers to spend a dime. While free-to-play games like Destiny 2 and Call of Duty: Warzone do often include premium cosmetics and loot, players who invest time and effort into these games will still be able to experience much of their content without needing to “pay-to-win.”
Currently, there are a wide number of video games that promote themselves with a free-to-play model, letting players experience their base gameplay without cost, then incentivizing them to purchase special content. A few rare games like Hawken are exclusive to a single console or model of PC, but most of these free-to-play games are available across multiple platforms, with the third-person shooter Warframe being a prime example.
The titles listed below are (mostly) available on other platforms besides the Xbox One, but their intense gameplay and strong competitive features make these free-to-play games great matches for the Xbox player base, particularly those who are fans of classic Xbox titles like Halo or the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
Call of Duty: Warzone
A Battle Royale spin-off of the Call of Duty FPS franchise, Call of Duty: Warzone takes the arena-style gameplay of Fortnite and grounds it in a more realistic, modern-looking battlefield. The emphasis in this game is on working together with squad-mates to take down opponents and acquire upgrades, even as poison gas seeps through the battlefield and swallows up the map. In an interesting twist, players defeated on the battlefield can re-spawn if they purchase special tokens or defeat similarly downed players in a one-on-one Gulag match.
Killer Instinct
A free-to-play reboot of the Killer Instinct franchise, Killer Instinct (2013) is a fighting game with a diverse character roster of martial artists, cyborgs, cursed immortals, and mutant beasts, many of them with a grudge to settle against the ludicrously evil UltraTech corporation. Compared to other fighting game franchises like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct is famous for letting players execute hilariously long combos against their opponents, attack strings that can generally only be interrupted with the infamous “Combo Breaker” mechanic.
Destiny 2
One of the most famous massive multiplayer shooters available on the market, Destiny 2 refines the Halo-inspired FPS mechanics of the first Destiny game while continuing the story of the Guardians and their quest to bring humanity back from the brink of extinction. In September 2019, Bungie Studios changed their business model by re-releasing Destiny 2 as Destiny 2: New Light, letting newcomers play through the main campaign for free. Quests, loot drops, and multiplayer “Crucible” Matches are available in abundance, but players will get the best experience out of Destiny 2 when they tune out the grind and soak in the vividly drawn environments, alien life-forms, and surreal fairy-tale lore of this series.
Hawken
An eight-year old multiplayer Mech shooter in the vein of Titanfall 2 or Mechwarrior Online, the Xbox One servers for Hawken are still going strong, immersing players in team battles of gripping urban combat. Progression in this shooter is built around unlocking new models of mechanized chassis along with upgrades and weapon types. Each of these upgrades can be acquired for free through sustained grinding, though players who wish to jump the line can purchase in-game credits to unlock certain features early.
As with most other video games, player looking to try out a new free-to-play game should always focus on genre and core gameplay over scale and graphical quality. A player who likes the science-fantasy setting of Destiny 2 will enjoy the online shooter’s gameplay even through its more grind-heavy segments, and the same applies to players who choose Call of Duty: Warzone for its similarity to the many, many other Call of Duty titles out there. The more fun players find in the base experience of these games, the more likely they’ll be able to play through these “free-to-play Xbox One titles completely for free, without feeling the need to purchase Battles Passes or other monetary shortcuts.
