The best PC games for 2025

After launching in 2013 to highly unfavorable reviews, the dev team went back to the drawing board and turned Final Fantasy XIV into one of the most popular MMORPGs on the market. Subsequent expansions have only served to make the game more successful, adding engaging new storylines and perfecting its tab-targeting combat system. With more than a dozen classes and hundreds of gear options, there’s no shortage of ways to build out a powerful character. You can then test your mettle in a variety of PvP and PvE modes, including raids with up to 23 other players. There’s no need to feel intimidated either because the generous free trial lets you get deep into the game before asking for a single cent.

Dota 2 is consistently one of the most popular games on Steam, drawing over half a million concurrent players every day. It’s a ruthlessly competitive MOBA, and many players have dumped thousands of hours into it. You can start learning the ropes within a few hours, but Dota 2 isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s so competitive because it’s so balanced, focusing on the skill level of the players and the strategy of the team. Dota 2 is free to play, and it’s light on microtransactions, so you may as well download it and give it a shot.

No one saw Helldivers 2 hitting as hard as it did on PC, but it has become one of the most popular co-op shooters on the platform. That second part is no fluke because the game is pure chaos in all the best ways. You make your loadout, select a mission, and go alone or with a squad down to a planet filled with killer bugs or bots to complete your objectives and try to get out alive. The entire thing is wrapped in a fantastic parody of pro-military propaganda to lend a lighthearted feel to all that death and war.

Counter-Strike 2 is the latest Counter-Strike title from Valve. Originally starting as a mod for Half-Life, Counter-Strike has grown into a competitive gaming phenomenon. Although Counter-Strike 2 was built off of, and replaces, Counter-Strike GO, it feels like the first game built from the ground up for competitive players. What makes this still worth jumping into more than a decade later is the continual support from both Valve and the players that keep the game thriving.

Hades is one of the best roguelikes of the past few years, but somehow Hades 2 is already better despite being in early access. Your new protagonist Melinoe controls a lot like Zag when you first pick the game up, but has a ton of unique mechanics all her own. The format, again, will feel familiar at first, but the more you play, the more you will realize old tricks no longer work. The art and performances are just as high quality as the original, and the soundtrack is on another level. If you got addicted to Hades then Hades 2 will take over your life.

Rocket League is a simple game; it’s soccer but with cars. Facing off against other drivers, you pilot a tricked-out racing machine pummeling toward a giant ball, with the intent of shooting it across the field and into the opponent’s goal. Although simple in premise, Rocket League is a multiplayer game that keeps you coming back. It’s simple enough that anyone can pick it up, but it takes serious dedication to master. What’s so great about Rocket League is that none of its mechanics are based in reality. Your car has a boost, for example, and you can use that boost to shoot off the ground and fly through the air. There’s little in the way of collision mechanics as well, meaning you can freely throw your vehicle into a wall without fear of it blowing up. Rocket League’s bombastic approach to an otherwise familiar game provides hours of fun, even if the core gameplay stays the same.