Steam is a platform that empowers millions of gamers and developers. It is designed and developed by Valve, the gaming studio behind hit titles such as Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Left 4 Dead, and Portal.

Among the multitude of genres that Steam has in store, it features a long list of free-to-play role-playing games (RPG) that continue to delight customers every day. These free RPG games are easy to learn and offer thousands of hours of gameplay to keep players glued to their seats. From anime to strategy games, these titles cover a wide spectrum of subgenres.

Updated on May 31, 2023, by Mark Sammut: Free Steam RPGs are not overabundant, but there are a couple of noteworthy titles on Valve's platform. While most are MMOs, there are exceptions too.

Guild Wars 2

Those looking for a fantastic, engrossing, and downright massive MMORPG experience can load up Guild Wars 2. This epic from Arena Net has been running strong for over a decade and recently entered a free-to-play state. Players are able to snag the base game on Steam and enjoy most of the fun that Guild Wars 2 has to offer. They'll sadly be locked out of some content due to free-to-play restrictions but these can be lifted for those that obtain the DLC content and expansion packs.

Guild Wars 2 features incredibly fluid and satisfying combat that will keep most players hooked from the moment they try it. With multiple classes, specializations, an array of weapons, and some amazing storylines, Guild Wars 2 is the perfect free-to-play RPG for those that are craving something they can easily sink hundreds of hours into.

Tower Of Fantasy

Genshin Impact took the world by storm thanks to its satisfying open-world gameplay that felt similar to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Unfortunately, the release never made it to Steam but one of its direct "competitors" did. Tower of Fantasy is another free-to-play release with a very similar style but focuses much more on the combat elements and weapon designs than miHoYo's adventure.

RELATED: Nintendo Switch RPGs You Should Play If You Love Genshin Impact

Anyone who likes the look and feel of Genshin Impact (as well as its Gacha-style character and weapon unlocking methods) but wants something that feels more like an action-packed hack-and-slash should give Tower of Fantasy a try.

Warframe

Warframe is a frontrunner for the most improved game of all time. When the title launched in 2013, its enjoyable blend of third-person shooter and melee gameplay was let down by repetitive levels and bland environments. The game's foundations were strong but the overall package left something to be desired.

Nearly a decade later, Warframe has evolved into an ambitious project that includes open-world sections, deep lore, an impressive roster of Warframes and weapons, and a gameplay loop that makes grinding rewarding. The RPG is absolutely stacked with content, and all of it is available for free. Anyone looking for a new game they can sink hundreds of hours into should give Warframe a shot, and that includes players who only tried the free RPG during its first year or two on the market.

Grimm's Hollow

Released just in time for Halloween, Grimm's Hollow is a story-driven RPG about a girl, Lavender, who finds herself in the afterlife. Once there, she sets out to locate her brother. That makes up the crux of the journey, although Grimm's Hollow does throw in a few neat surprises along the way.

While the gameplay is nothing more than serviceable, Grimm's Hollow makes up for it with a lovable protagonist, charmingly grim visuals, and an emotional narrative. It is also pretty short and does not overstay its welcome.

Eternal Senia

Eternal Senia drops players in a tower filled with monsters and tells them to climb. In due time, the anime RPG begins to expand on its plot by exploring Senia's past and the one relationship that matters the most to her. Although it takes its time, the story is well written and builds nicely to a trio of endings.

RELATED: Best RPG Games Based On Anime

Utilizing a simplistic but effective combat system, Eternal Senia delivers an enjoyable, if not particularly challenging 5-hour campaign. The boss encounters are especially satisfying.

Old School RuneScape

RuneScape will last forever, at least that seems to be the popular opinion. While the franchise has produced modern iterations, Old School RuneScape presents a way for the original incarnation to be accessed in 2022. Naturally, the game looks incredibly dated, but that is also part of its appeal.

However, Old School RuneScape's visuals were never its calling card. The game's longevity can be largely credited to the freedom it provides players. In this MMORPG, users can decide what type of existence they want to lead. Wish to specialize in monster hunting? Go for it? Desire a quiet life? Old School RuneScape supports that choice.

Path Of Exile

Path of Exile is a free-to-play action RPG that immerses players into the dark continent of Wraeclast. The world provides gruesome combat, enchanted items, and deep character customization. Players and their party members can choose to play different classes such as the Duelist, Witch, Ranger, Templar, Marauder, Shadow, and the Scion.

Players can journey across Wraeclast and discover ancient secrets in an epic adventure. They can learn unique skills and trade gems while playing through quests and missions. Path of Exile offers PvP tournaments and Capture the Flag events on an international scale and encourages players with daily leagues to climb up ladders and win exquisite prizes.

Neverwinter

Neverwinter lets players play and defend beautiful cities inspired by Dungeons and Dragons. Players can choose to play as the Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, and Wizard. The combat system features an action bar with slots for extensive abilities. These slots can take up abilities that can be used for offense, defense, items, and passive skills.

RELATED: RPGs That Are Twice As Long As They Need To Be

Over the years, Neverwinter has released a number of campaigns and has expanded its map of dangerous dungeons to delve in. Sharander is the latest campaign from Neverwinter and was released on February 16, 2021.

Shakes & Fidget

Published by Playa Games Gmbh, Shakes & Fidget has more than 50 million players online and features dozens of dungeons to conquer and fortresses to defend. The classes included in the game are Druid, Warrior, Demon Hunter, Berserker, Battle Mage, Assassin, Scout, and Mage.

Shakes & Fidget has a shop with thousands of weapons and armor to customize characters and their builds. Having a tongue-in-cheek tone, the game features many funny characters with hilarious lines that will surely entertain and amuse players and party members. It also has PvE and PvP modes to play with friends and opponents online.

Firestone

Firestone is an indie RPG game set in Alandria, a world drenched in chaos by the forces of Undead and the Orcs. A party of five can team up and fight the forces of disorder in feature-rich maps such as Frostfire, Ebony Jungle, The Cauldron, Celenis, Silverwood, Dreadland, and Hinterland.

Players can equip their party with gear and enchantments to strengthen their might in battle. It has guilds and fellowships that players can join to take part in legendary battles. Gamers can also research ancient knowledge, carry out alchemical experiments, gather firestones, and much more.

Bit Heroes

Play as pixelated dungeon crawlers in Bit Heroes, a charming RPG game with a vast world to explore. The old-school RPG game has a turn-based combat system that lets players defeat and capture monsters and terrible bosses to fight alongside the party. Gamers can become the mightiest hero in the land by competing in the PvP arena, Raids, and other weekly events to win amazing prizes.

RELATED: Great Free To Play Co-Op PC Games To Play Right Now (According To Metacritic)

Bit Heroes offers a ton of loot to collect and craft into items that can help players dominate every battle. The RPG provides players with a surprisingly fun experience each time they play through the randomly-generated levels.

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis

Phantasy Star Online 2 spent nearly a decade stuck in Japan, but it eventually morphed into New Genesis. This iteration tweaks quite a few things, including the introduction of an open-world as a replacement for self-contained regions. That is just the most obvious change, as New Genesis also revamps PSO2's combat, progression, and graphics.

New Genesis has plenty of things going for it that make it worth a download at the minimum. The real-time gameplay is fast-paced, responsive, flashy, and simply fun. This goes beyond just the combat, as Sega also took steps to ensure that traversing the map is also enjoyable. The world is beautiful and diverse without being too huge. The main story is decent for an MMORPG, even if it is on the short side. However, New Genesis is very grind-heavy, in the sense that the game expects players to just head out and fight enemies to gain experience. There are not all that many quests, at least compared to other free Steam RPGs.

Spiral Knights

Take part in an alien adventure in Spiral Knights, a free RPG that unravels the mystery behind Cradle, a hostile planet swarming with alien creatures. Pair up with teammates and venture into the subterranean world of the Clockworks, a place pieced together by strange worlds and stranger creatures.

Worlds in the Clockworks are ever-changing and levels underneath the surface are rotated in real-time. Spiral Knights features several unique weapons and gear that are just waiting to be discovered and equipped by players. Take on monsters, solve puzzles, and collect treasures in alien worlds to reach the core of the Clockworks.

The Lord Of The Rings Online

World of Warcraft and Runescape are not the only MMORPGs seemingly destined to last forever. The Lord of the Rings Online has been around for more than 15 years, and while the game launched with a subscription, it eventually went free to play in 2010. Nowadays, all players have access to the base content and all the expansions up to Helm's Deep, which requires them to reach level 95. After that, they would need to invest in the remaining five LOTRO expansions. The free level has a couple of other restrictions like allowing only two character slots on a server, but players can subscribe to the VIP or Premium tiers if they want to break these walls.

RELATED: Expansions That Saved MMOs

LOTRO's combat and visuals expose its age, which is hardly surprising considering there is only so much a developer can change via updates. Combat is probably the game's weakest point and can be off-putting to newcomers who want something a bit more exciting. However, LOTRO's storytelling and world are not only fantastic but rank among the genre's best. The MMORPG does an admirable job of bringing Middle-earth to life while also writing character-driven quests that contribute to a sense of narrative progression rather than coming across as busywork.

Lost Ark

Lost Ark tells a tale of two halves. On the one hand, the action RPG's core gameplay is among the best in the free-to-play scene. The isometric game takes obvious inspiration from Diablo 3, a decision that results in stylish and satisfying real-time combat that is visually striking and mechanically deep. Presentation-wise, the MMO knocks most aspects out of the park, including a strong art style. The world is also unique, large, and fun to explore, serving as a fantastic setting for a fairly lengthy and enjoyable main campaign.

For all its positives, Lost Ark's monetization holds the game back from earning an unabashed recommendation. Simply put, they are rather invasive and lend themselves to a pay-to-win structure, which is a huge issue in a game that supports PvP. Obviously, this shortcoming is reduced if a player focuses solely on Lost Ark's PvE aspect. In some cases, this game might be best treated as a story-driven RPG with a definitive endpoint rather than an MMO built around its endgame.

Wakfu

Wakfu is a humorous RPG that lets players venture through various dungeons, each with its own story, monsters, and final boss. Get together with friends and rise to the top of Mount Zinit to face Ogrest, the strongest being in the World of Twelve.

Players can choose to play as one of eighteen original classes that include Xelor, Sadida, Feca, Cra, and Masqueraider, just to name a few. Each class has special abilities that can help players fight creatures on the battlefield in a turn-based tactical combat system. Level up with friends and complete hundreds of quests to become a legendary hero in Wakfu.

Summoners War: Chronicles

Summoners War largely falls within the auto-battler subgenre of mobile RPGs, which is an acquired taste. Chronicles is the first entry in the franchise to make the jump to PC, and while not a far departure from its predecessor, the game is a bit more action-oriented. While players still build a team of monsters that auto-fight during battles, the main character also joins in on the fun, pushing the overall experience into action RPG territory. Although the combat system itself is not particularly deep, it is complemented by the team-management aspect that adds an element of strategy.

RELATED: Common Mistakes Players Make in Summoners War: Chronicles

With over 300 monsters to catch and summon, Summoners War: Chronicles should be able to scratch someone's gacha itch if that is a mechanic they enjoy. There are also three playable characters that fit neatly into different classes, providing players with the option to pick one that fits their play style.

Tactical Monsters Rumble Arena

Tactical Monsters Rumble Arena is a highly competitive indie RPG game. Take control of monsters from across time and space in a turn-based, real-time multiplayer mode to outsmart and beat opponents from every corner of the world. These monsters include Big Foot, Wukong, Hellboy, Frankenstein, and The Mummy among others.

Each of the monsters has a range of skills such as magical, physical, and ultimate attacks that keeps the action fresh and exciting for players new and old. Tactical Monsters Rumble Arena has a PvP mode that lets players battle each other to claim the world treasure chest.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Celebrating more than a decade of activity in 2022, Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of the MMORPG genre's staples. Any fan of the sci-fi juggernaut franchise should give BioWare's title a try since the game's writing is generally of high quality. Along with the base content, the free version also includes two expansions (Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Shadow of Revan), which is more than enough material to keep somebody busy for potentially months.

The Old Republic has robust class and morality systems, allowing players to pick whether they want to align themselves with the light or dark side. Each class even follows a unique storyline, presenting a reason to try out different playstyles beyond just shaking up the core gameplay. As this is a 2011 title, The Old Republic's combat is fairly archaic by this point, and it was never among the genre's best, to begin with. However, the game's storytelling more than makes up for it.

MORE: Best RPGs On The SNES, Ranked