Gaming these days has become a much more acceptable and widely appreciated hobby. It covers a huge range of different players too–from the sim racers to the virtual board game enjoyers, gaming covers so many different hobbies and themes these days that it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t tried a video game recently. Add to that the accessibility of video games and you’ve got one of the world’s most popular hobbies.
But with the increasing price of triple-A games and the popularity of freemium titles, can you still enjoy video games while sticking to a budget? If you’ve already read the title of this article, then you probably know the answer to that question! In this post, we’re going to show you a couple of tips on how to enjoy this hobby without ever needing to spend a single dollar on games.
Free-to-Play Games
The most obvious way to enjoy games without spending a single dollar is to play free-to-play games such as League of Legends, Counter Strike, or MMORPGs like Runescape.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, these games have microtransactions and paid content. It’s necessary in order to keep the games running and their staff paid, but you don’t have to buy anything. Lots of freemium games are funded by the “whale” players who make up a small percentage of players and a large percentage of the revenue.
But if you like a free-to-play game, you at least have the option of supporting the developers by buying something small when your budget allows for it. It’s a great way to show your appreciation, and you’ll probably get loads of playtime out of a game before you even spend a dime.
Web Games
There are so many games that you can play straight in your browser these days. They’re not all cinematic gaming experiences that can rival downloaded games, but they’re still plenty of fun if it’s your kind of thing.
For example, you can play solitaire for free, you can enjoy clones of Monopoly with your friends, or even tease your brain with daily Wordle puzzles. There are so many different web games out there that you don’t need to pay for, and you don’t even have to download anything to enjoy them!
Old Games and Modifications
A lot of people dislike modern gaming because of reasons like microtransactions, large game sizes, and unsatisfying gameplay. If you feel the same, then you might be happy to find out that lots of old games get abandoned over time and generally become completely free to play. Some popular examples include Tales of Maj’Eyal and the original DOOM game.
You also have lots of game modifications that are completely free to play too, assuming you own the base games. For example, there are complete overhauls to Minecraft that change how the game works, or Grand Theft Auto V mods that transform the game into a roleplaying experience. Of course, you’ll need to own the base game first, but these games are fairly old now and you can pick them up for a low price if you don’t already have them.
