Looking for the best free war games to try out without spending a penny? We've got you covered, with a handy list going through some of the latest and greatest titles in the military genre. Even better, none of them will cost you anything to try out, ensuring you'll find a new warfare obsession in no time.
With ten games currently on our list, we're sure that you'll stumble upon a war game you haven't tried out before. Ranging from sci-fi extravaganzas to uber-realistic military simulators, if war games are your thing, chances are you'll like our entries.
Here are the best free war games
- Anocris
- CRSED: F.O.A.D.
- Enlisted
- Tentlan
- War Thunder
- World of Tanks
- War Robots
- Call of Duty: Warzone
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Rogue Company
- World of Tanks
Anocris
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+ 10First on our list is Anocris, a web-based empire builder where you craft your own ancient Egyptian town. Set in 1200 BC, it plays like other town builders you may have tried, with an increased emphasis on warfare to expand your influence and take over enemy regions.
But the RTS combat here is more than just your traditional strategic warfare. No, instead you can harness the power of ancient gods like Anubis and Ra to imbue your forces with magical powers. With both PVP and PVE modes, the possibilities are endless when it comes to declaring war in Anocris.
CRSED: F.O.A.D.
click to enlarge + 10For a more wacky spin on the contemporary shooter, CRSED: F.O.A.D. may be up your street. It's a first- and third-person battle royale game, where you randomly spawn across the map to take out rival players and become the last one standing. Yes, it's a formula you may already be familiar with, but CRSED: F.O.A.D. makes sure that it stands out from its contemporaries.
It does that by combining realistic weaponry with wacky supernatural abilities, which you collect randomly throughout the world. If you want to summon zombies to swarm enemies, or briefly make yourself invisible, the magical powers throughout the game let you do that. For a war game that takes itself slightly less seriously, CRSED: F.O.A.D. is for you.
Enlisted
click to enlarge + 10The story behind Enlisted is interestingly tied to our previous entry, CRSED: F.O.A.D. That game was initially announced as an April Fools' joke, made on the same engine as Enlisted by the same developer. As such, it's something of a spin-off of Enlisted, which is a far more serious and hardcore military shooter.
Enlisted is set in World War II, with a focus on squad-based warfare and tactical combat. You'll need to plan your assaults and communicate with your team, completing long matches on modes like Conquest and Assault. If the wackiness of CRSED: F.O.A.D. leaves you wanting something historical and more realistic, its forefather Enlisted is definitely the answer.
Tentlan
click to enlarge + 10Tentlan is similar to Anocris, as a top-down historical strategy game with a keen eye on warfare to expand your empire. Set in the pre-Columbian Americas, it's actually developed by Lionmoon, who also made Anocris. Therefore, you know you're in for a world-builder with a keen focus on crushing rival empires in battle.
Instead of straight-up magic harnessed from gods, in Tentlan you get to use weather effects to give your military forces performance boosts. Performing rituals based on specific seasons can totally transform your military strategy, which can change on a whim depending on how a battle is going. It's rare that a game lets you switch supernatural strategy mid-match, which makes Tentlan stand out.
War Thunder
click to enlarge + 10If you like the sound of War Robots but yearn for something slightly more realistic, then look no further than War Thunder. It takes the vehicular gameplay spin of War Robots and adds a realistic backdrop, with land, air, and sea battles in its roster.
Yes, War Thunder is arguably the definitive vehicular war game. It's quite similar to the Battlefield series in how expansive its matches are, with a generous ticket system gradually ticking down as you defeat wave after wave of enemy forces. It won't be easy for newcomers to win matches immediately, but War Thunder has remained popular since 2012 for good reason.
World of Tanks
click to enlarge + 10If you want something slightly more focused than War Thunder but just as geared towards vehicular warfare, World of Tanks is for you. If you think the former game running since 2012 is impressive, then you'll be staggered to learn that World of Tanks has been, ahem, chugging along since 2010.
It's the one that started the wave of massive vehicular war games and still holds up to this day. With hundreds of tanks on offer and massive sprawling deathmatches to partake in, World of Tanks is probably the best one to get you started with this sub-genre of war games.
War Robots
click to enlarge + 10Remember Robot Wars? While it may not be exactly the same as the hit TV show, War Robots lets you fulfil your dreams of sending cyborgs into battle, with a more futuristic spin. This mobile MOBA allows you to customise your own military droid, complete with weapons and perks, before sending it into battle against real-life opponents.
In 6v6 matches, you duke it out with other players online to score the most points, but War Robots is so much more than that. Each robot type has a vast difference in performance and abilities, leading some to be more stealthy, some to benefit healing, and so on. It's far more strategic than most mobile combat games, making it worth a try if you haven't already.
Call of Duty: Warzone
click to enlarge + 10When it comes to free war games, the chances are Call of Duty: Warzone is the first one that springs to your mind. CoD has been the supremo of the FPS genre for well over a decade now, and the franchise's first foray into a free-to-play model was a huge success.
The premise of Warzone is a simple one: 100 players landing in the city of Verdansk (or Caldera since recent updates), all vying to be the last one standing. What ensues is the classic CoD gunplay with a more sandbox approach, which totally shakes up the franchise's pace. When it comes to war games, few are as popular and easy to pick up as Call of Duty: Warzone.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
click to enlarge + 10Now, for something completely different. Star Wars games have often focused on the military side of things, especially in the excellent Battlefront series, but the MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic does something very different to other games in the franchise. Itself an offshoot of the KOTOR RPGs from BioWare, this game is completely free and lets you insert yourself into those ever-popular Star Wars.
Choosing from one of eight classes, the story mode explores a period long before the prequel trilogy, with moral choices, extensive quest lines, and of course combat. You can run through dungeons with friends in tow, or partake in vast PVP battles that do scenes like the battle of Geonosis justice. That's Star Wars alright.
Rogue Company
click to enlarge + 10Last on our list, for now, is Rogue Company, a free-to-play third-person shooter with wacky design and varied character builds that'll remind you of Overwatch. It's more arcadey than most other games on our list, with focused 2v2 and 4v4 modes testing your ability to pick a character and learn their skills and buffs inside out.
It's a competent arena shooter, where you'll need to work alongside teammates to play the objective or risk losing control entirely. Not many war games take the objective-based approach of Counter-Strike and meld them with the colourful futurism of Overwatch, so Rogue Company is here to scratch that itch.
That's it for our look at some of the best free war games out there! Once you've picked a new military behemoth to dive into, feel free to also check out our list of the best Android horror games. It'll give you plenty of recommendations for pocket-sized titles to sink hours into.
Elsewhere, feel free to also check out our list of the best free RPG games, for a more narrative-driven, customisable experience. We've also got a list of the best free shooting games, and the best free Android games, for even more amazing titles that'll cost you nothing at all.