The gaming industry is rolling in free-to-play cash.
Ironically, you’d think a sales model that relies on giving away games for free (literally) wouldn’t make much money.
However, ads, microtransactions, and in-game purchases have led to popular F2P games like Roblox and PUBG Mobile becoming some of the industry’s biggest cash cows.
And in a time where traditional console sales are down and Gen Z are cutting back on video game purchases altogether, it’s safe to say that the F2P market is keeping everything afloat.
Free-to-Play Games Are On Top
- 85% of gaming revenue comes from F2P titles across mobile, PC, and console
- A total of 8 out of the 10 best-selling world games — Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Apex Legends, Lost Ark, PUBG, War Thunder, Destiny 2, and Warframe — are completely free
- The free-to-play market is valued at $62 billion in 2025 and will likely reach $127 billion by 2030
With 2025 coming to an end, free-to-play games are still booming.
They’ve dominated gaming for close to a decade now, and there’s no sign of one of gaming’s biggest ever trends slowing down.
Even Fortnite, the classic battle royale that’s experienced a significant player drop-off over recent times, is still expected to generate around $6 billion by the end of the year.
Truth be told, it actually makes a lot of sense, as these current economic times have people gripping onto their wallets much harder than pre-2020.
The appetite for gaming is still there, though, so Gen Z and Millennials have mostly migrated to popular F2P games across all the major platforms.
These types of games don’t require any upfront purchase, so when you open the PlayStation™Store or iOS/Android app stores and come across them, it’s sort of a no-brainer to hit the download button.
The Top 3 Most-Played Games on Stream Right Now Are All F2P
If you head on over to Steam, you’ll see that its top 3 most-played games right now are free-to-play titles:
- Counter-Strike 2 (#1 most-played, 1,342,792)
- Dota 2 (#1 most-played, 749,617)
- PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS (392,222)
And of the top ten list, 7 of them altogether are F2P, with some of the other popular choices including Delta Force, Bongo Cat, and Apex Legends.
It’s a crazy market at the moment, as F2P games have effectively taken over all of the charts, from Steam to the PlayStation Store, and won’t budge.
This is now the new normal for gaming and the F2P model will, seemingly, be around for decades to come.
For most Gen Z gamers, it’s actually all they’ve ever known, having only ever played free live service games on Steam, mobile, or console.
The concept of paying $70 for a video game is becoming almost alien to them, which will no doubt force developers and publishers into adapting over the next decade, likely reaching a point where the vast majority of games on Steam (and everywhere else) are F2P.
Big-name companies like Rockstar will probably still be able to get away with charging high prices for the future video games they release, but it will be more of a rarity.
F2P Games Make Big Bucks Through Ads, Microtransactions, and Battle Passes
When it comes to free-to-play games, they’re not just great for the players: they’re also a cash cow for publishers.
Despite releasing the games themselves for free, these companies are able to rake money in through ads, microtransactions, battle passes and even cosmetics.
The way it works is like this: consumers download a popular F2P for free, believe they’ve got a bargain, and so feel much more comfortable purchasing monthly battle passes and in-game items.
The stats don’t lie, either, with Counter-Strike 2 reportedly earning Valve over $1 billion from case openings back in 2023 when the popular tactical shooter game first launched (and it quickly followed this up by earning $610 million during the first half of 2024).
Dota 2, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Fortnite, and others have also earnt billions in revenue since launch, with players getting hooked on microtransactions like there’s no tomorrow.
Turns out, some players are now so obsessed with free-to-play games that they’ve even started signing up with the sweepstakes casinos on sweeps kings, a type of casino where all of the games are free-to-play yet you can still win prizes.
In a nutshell, the modern gaming industry is entirely dominated by free-to-play titles across PC, mobile, and console, as well as sweepstakes-style games that also copy the F2P model.
The Rise of Free-to-Play Games Will Continue, Although GTA 6 Could Shake Things Up
Are free-to-play games going to be here forever?
It certainly seems that way.
There’s also been a recent report that traditional video game sales among Gen Z have dropped 25% since 2024 due to economic pressure, so the number of people playing F2P games is only going to increase as we move forward.
Of course, there is the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6, which is by far the most anticipated video game of all time.
If rumors are to be believed, Rockstar could be launching GTA 6 at a $100 price point, making it the most expensive video game ever.
It would certainly disrupt the free-to-play market, at least for a little while, and could even influence other developers and publishers to pivot towards a high-end premium pricing model.
This is unlikely, though, so we expect GTA 6 to simply do its own thing while F2P games like CS2 and Dota 2 continue ripping up the charts.
Free-to-play isn’t just a business model anymore — it’s a new way of life for gamers.
