Gwent: The Witcher Card Game (Xbox One)

A minigame ripped straight out of one of the most popular RPGs of all time and repurposed as a standalone, free Xbox game? Unbelievably, The Witcher 3’s card game, Gwent, is actually good enough to make that jump.

What initially seems like a very simple, luck-based experience soon shows itself to be deceptively deep stuff, a highly addictive card game that involves plenty of strategy when facing off against players who know what they’re up to. You’ll need to learn the art of the bluff, carefully construct your deck and think fast if you want to succeed here.

There have, of course, been changes and additions made to the minigame you’ll have played during your adventures as Geralt of Rivia here and they make for a more satisfying experience that never wastes your time. Gwent dishes out rewards every time you log in and play, giving you reason to return over and over again - including enough in-game currency and card packs to ensure you never have to spend a penny.

Halo Infinite (Xbox Series X|S)

The Master Chief's return is a phenomenal experience that fuses a fantastic new open world campaign with one of the most pure FUN multiplayer components we've played in a long, long while - this is a game that singlehandedly gave us back our appetite for competitive online play.

Halo Infinite's multiplayer also happens to be completely free to play, you don't even need an Xbox Live subscription to jump in here so, besides some ongoing issues and complaints regarding its progression model and lack of content updates, what you've got here is an absolutely stellar shooter experience to dive into for the princely sum of zero. You love to see it.

Without a doubt, Halo Infinite is one of the best free Xbox games you can play today.

HAWKEN (Xbox One)

Do you like blasting around in huge mechs as you take on other players in a variety of fast-paced PvP and co-operative gameplay modes? Do you like doing all of this for free in a game that doesn’t punish you for not spending cash? Then Hawken may well be right up your massive metal exoskeleton.

Adhesive Game’s first-person mech shooter is an intense online mech experience that’s been around in some form or another since all the way back in 2012 and happily manages to avoid a pay-to-win scenario by only having cosmetic items locked behind an actual paywall. Furthermore, regardless of what guns or items some your enemies may be rocking, Hawken’s core gameplay is really all about individual skill, the ability to read the battlefield and control your mech, so fancy guns here will only get you so far.

If you’re looking for a free Xbox Mechwarrior-style multiplayer game to disappear into, Hawken has got you more than covered.

Killer Instinct (Xbox One)

Double Helix’s Killer Instinct is a cracking reboot of a bonafide fighting game classic and, as long as you’re willing to put up with only having a handful of fighters to choose from at any given time, you can play all of its modes as much as you like for free on Xbox!

Killer Instinct’s free-to-play model gives you both Jago and Orchid (once you’ve collected 50% of the dossiers in Shadow Lords mode) to play in any and all of its various modes and then throws in another random fighter on a rotating basis. Yes, if you want to pick up any more pugilists you’ll have to dish out some cash for them, but we reckon having a choice of three to blast through this one with is a pretty sweet deal for zero dollars, especially given just how good this revamped version of the SNES classic is.

With flashy 4K visuals, a focus on screen-shaking combos and controls that are easy to get to grips with – Street Fighter fans will have no problems finding their bearings here – Killer Instinct is a whole lot of fast-paced fun that you should absolutely Wind Kick your way into ASAP.

Neverwinter (Xbox One)

If you’re looking for relaxing free Xbox MMORPG that doesn’t require spending cash to progress, Neverwinter is a solid choice.

Almost six years on from its initial release on consoles, this fantasy world is still an endearing one, with tight gamepad controls, surprisingly fun, arcadey combat and a level cap that’ll take you a good long while to max out.

It may not have the biggest world we’ve seen in the genre, but there’s plenty of content here that works well played either solo or with friends. Overall a pretty casual, grindy MMO with decent combat, plenty of theorycrafting and a relaxed vibe, Neverwinter is well worth checking out for MMO fans.

Paladins (Xbox One)

Hi-Rez Studios’ free-to-play hero shooter is a colourful blast of Overwatch-esque team-based battle action that’s been one of our go-to FTP titles since it released back on Xbox back in 2018.

We’ve pumped hundreds of hours into this one and that’s all down to well-defined classes and roles, a generous roster of nicely designed characters and a clever card-based loadout system that adds plenty of depth to proceedings. There’s lots of strategy here to back up the fast and frantic shooting action and, if you’re in any way an Overwatch fan, you owe it to yourself to seek this one out and give it a try, you may just be surprised with how addictive it all is.

In terms of forking out real-world money Paladins is on to a winner too, as you can unlock anything that actually affects gameplay by simply racking up XP through playing the game. Actual cash purchases here are purely cosmetic. Hooray!

Path of Exile (Xbox One)

Grinding Gear Games’ excellent free-to-play, Diablo-esque action-RPG first arrived on the gaming scene all the way back in October of 2013 - finally hitting Xbox in 2017 - and it has continued to grow and evolve ever since with its busy developer continuously adding to and refining the game.

There really is an immense amount of content included in this one, it’s a game that’s grown from an initial three acts starting out to the ten that now make up its main campaign, and this is backed up by a brutally tough endgame with an almost endless array of activities to busy yourself with.

With deep and satisfying solo play or co-op for up to four people, lots of customisation and crafting, absolutely tons of loot, 19 specialized classes to play as, PvP tournaments and so much more, Path of Exile may be a little complex to begin with but, once you’re settled in, there’s literally hundreds of hours of enjoyment to be found in this excellent, ever-expanding dungeon-crawler.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (Xbox One)

Originally released in Japan nine whole years ago, Sega’s Phantasy Star Online 2 finally made its way to western audiences in 2020, bringing with it eight whole years’ worth of content, updates and refinements to its core experience.

Then, back in June of 2021, SEGA introduced us to Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, featuring a redesigned graphics engine along with a new story, new gameplay elements and "unparalleled character customisation". It's an entirely new experience and it co-exists alongside PSO2, allowing you to bring your character across if you want to.

This flashy free-to-play anime MMORGP sports some surprisingly slick combat, an addictive and deep progression system and an absolute ton of activities to get stuck into. There’s nothing pay-to-win about this one either so, although it constantly tempts you to buy all manner of trinkets and boons, you really can just settle in here for endless solo or co-op fun without spending a bean.

Rec Room (Xbox One)

Rec Room is one of the best free Xbox games for simply interacting with other players, getting creative, playing games, hanging out and just having some chilled out good times.

If you’ve played Roblox you’ll have some idea of the score with Rec Room, the major differences here being that this cross-platform experience has you sharing games with VR players and it's a more chilled out, social experience for our money too. Starting off in the main Rec Centre hub area, you can wander off and explore, chat with other players, create and explore rooms, customise your Mii-esque character and, of course, get stuck into all manner of multiplayer games.

There are first person shooters here, co-op adventures, sports games and more and, with the game’s “maker pen” tool, players are able to craft their own in-game items to share with friends, design unique game spaces and even make their own multiplayer game experiences. If you’re looking for something a little different that provides a chilled out social space combined with tools that let you get creative, Rec Room is well worth checking out!

Rocket League (Xbox One)

Rocket League undoubtedly has to be included in our list of best free Xbox games on Xbox One, Series X and Series S – and that’s because Psyonix’s madcap vehicular footie game is absolutely excellent.

This heady mix of fast-paced car racing and pinpoint accurate soccer action might sound like an inadvisable mix on paper but, in practice, it’s one of the very best multiplayer games on Xbox that’s eaten away a spectacular amount of our gaming time since it first released back in 2015.

Blasting around stadiums - whether you’re playing with randoms or your friends - scoring goals and boosting through foes for devastating tackles here is constantly exhilarating stuff that’s made all the more addictive by the fact it’s actually got tons of depth to it. There’s real skill involved here, with proper teamwork and strategy on display when you’re up against good squads, and that really does keep the core gameplay experience from growing stale.

Rocket League is constantly updated with new cosmetics and content, so if you’re in the mood for some top-notch arcade multiplayer action, get this smash hit downloaded pronto!