Essays 24 November 2021, 17:43

15 Best Free Online Shooters to Play in 2023

There are plenty of free-to-play shooters out there, but there's also plenty of garbage. We come to the rescue and give you 15 best free online shooters that are honest, fun, and – most importantly – constantly updated.

PUBG

PUBG IN A NUTSHELL

Developer: PUBG Studios
Publisher: Bluehole
Platforms: PC, XOne, PS4
PC release date: December 2017

In 2022, PUBG switched to a free-to-play model with microtransactions and could finally be included in this list. Previously, you had to pay for the game. Currently, PUBG can be played for free on all its platforms.

One of the most popular online shooters (regularly appears in the TOP 5 most-played games on Steam) belongs to the battle royale genre. Players are sent on a large map that they explore in order to look for weapons and good vantage points that will allow them to survive the next few minutes. Staying in one place for a long time, however, isn't the best idea, because with time, the combat area shrinks and everyone outside of it begins to lose HP. This has a positive effect on the dynamics of the game, although it's still slower than, for example, Battlefield, let alone Call of Duty. This is because there are no respawns in PUBG. Death here is permanent for each match. So, the winner is the last person standing on the battlefield.

PUBG allows for some team-based collaboration. The available modes allow you to play in groups of two to four members. Communication is vital during gameplay with companions. However, there's no need to use external voice communicators. The feature is built in the game. In addition to battle royal, there are also other modes, including team deathmatch.

The creators invariably care about the development of their game. Next seasons appear regularly. New content is added regularly, including more large maps. Deston was introduced mid-July. There's room for some skyscrapers, as well as swamps and mountains – all in a huge area.

Switching to free-to-play model brought a whole lot of new players to PUBG. The average number of players increased in January 2022 by nearly 100,000. (according to Steam Charts) and remained at a level exceeding 200,000 for the next few months. Currently, it doesn't drop below this value, and it remains one of the most popular battle royale games on the market.