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The best games on Steam in 2025

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Got a fresh Steam account? Here are the best Steam games to get free or buy first.

Hades
(Image credit: Supergiant Games)
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Steam is home to thousands of games, so any list of the best ones is going to include a lot of PC games we recommend on our other lists like the best RPGs or best strategy games. We've focused this list on getting the most out of your Steam library in a few ways: finding games releasing on Steam for the first time after launching elsewhere, games you should grab during Steam sales, and some of our favorite games of all time that Steam user reviews also vouch for.

Best of the best

The Dark Urge, from Baldur's Gate 3, looks towards his accursed claws with self-disdain.

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

2025 games: Upcoming releases
Best PC games: All-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together

Before you choose what to buy, you may want to check out our more focused guides to the best Steam Deck games and the best free Steam games.

New Steam games

These recently released games are all available on Steam and are ones that we've either reviewed highly or enjoyed quite a lot sans review.

Silent Hill f

Silent Hill f
Silent Hill f review: 90%

<p>An action-adventure horror game set in 1960s Japan, with allegorical monsters and a cryptic story that takes on new dimensions as you play through it multiple times.
Peak

Peak
Peak review: 86%

<p>This silly co-op climbing game with proximity chat is one of our latest favorites in the "friendslop" trend (which deserves a better name!).
Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong
Silksong review: 90%

<p>The long-memed sequel to Team Cherry's hit sidescrolling action platformer is ruthless, just the way we wanted.
Dispatch

Dispatch
Dispatch review: 89%

<p>An episodic narrative adventure with "rizz for days" about superheroes, made by former Telltale Games vets.
Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders review: 86%

<p>This breakout hit third-person shooter extraction game made us love its moments of emergent player behavior.
Europa Universalis 5

Europa Universalis 5
Europa Universalis 5 review: 87%

<p>Reign for 500 years in a strategy game that deeply simulates everything—down to the individual people.

New (to Steam) games

Games that are now on Steam after previously being exclusive to other storefronts, launchers, or platforms.

Free-to-play Steam games

Games you can get into for free and download as soon as you make your first Steam account.

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2
Replacing the original with this 2.0 update, Counter-Strike 2 continues the multi-decade tradition of competitive first-person shooting. It comes with a more in-depth rank system, lots of visual improvements, and those impressive, tactical smoke physics.

The Sims 4

The Sims 4
Still essentially the only one of its kind in the building and managing life sim space, The Sims 4's base game is now free to download and on Steam. There's still loads of DLC to buy, which adds up quickly, but you can snag the essential experience without paying a thing.

Path of Exile

Path of Exile
Still getting updates despite the launch of POE2, this action RPG has always been free-to-play on Steam. It's got a notoriously expansive skill tree and years of campaign content to fight through solo or co-op.

Warframe

Warframe
Somewhat in the vein of Destiny 2 (though predating it), Warframe is a free sci-fi world to leap around in as you fight "techno-organic horrors" with guns and katanas. It's one of the PC's best success stories, and a long-running co-op favorite.

Best Steam games to grab during a sale

There are so many Steam Sale dates each year that you can get just about anything on sale that isn't brand new. Here are some of our favorites that get discounted so often you'd kick yourself for paying full price.

Hitman World of Assassination

Hitman World of Assassination
The best stealth sandbox out there is often on sale for $5.99 (-80%) and sometimes as low as $2.99 (-90%).

Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium
One of our favorite RPGs of all time usually goes on sale for $9.99 (-75%) and more rarely for $3.99 (-90%).

XCOM 2

XCOM 2
The tactical strategy sensation regularly goes on sale for $2.99 (-95%), so make the tactical choice to get it cheap.

The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3
The conclusion of Geralt's trilogy is on sale several times a year for $7.99 (-80%) and about once per year over the summer will hit $3.99 (-90%).

Control

Control
Beloved surrealist adventure Control has been stepping down in sale price over the years and is now often discounted to $3.99 (-90%).

Best games of all time on Steam

Some of our own favorite games that also have extremely high Steam user review scores.

Lauren Morton
Lauren Morton
Lead SEO Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She joined the PCG staff in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.

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