I love a good deal. It’s a rush to find a big discount on something I really want to buy, and with PC games you usually don’t have to wait very long for the next Steam sale to get what you want. But it’s also exciting to play a game that didn’t cost very much to begin with and discover how much you love it.
The best cheap PC games can hold your attention for months. Cheap doesn’t necessarily mean short or simple. Sometimes the most creative indie games cost only a few dollars, and some classics from the ’90s and 2000s can be picked up for a song even outside big sales. But there are so many cheap games on Steam now, sorting through them can be exhausting. That’s where this guide comes in: It’s a collection of the best cheap games we’ve reviewed and written about, broken up into categories to help you find something to play. And I really do mean cheap: Nearly every single game here costs $10 / £10 or less.
Before we get to the regular cheap PC games, we have a few resources you should check for deals and outright free games every week.
If you want to throw some pricier games on your wishlist for the next sale, check out our guides to the best PC games right now and new games of 2021.
Freebies you can grab right now: Twitch Prime freebies, free weekends on Steam, limited betas and Epic giveaways, updated every week.
Epic Games Store free games: Epic gives away at least one game for free every week. Check here for the latest giveaway.
The best free PC games: Our curated list of great free and F2P games, including what we’re playing right now and tons more recommendations broken down by genre.
Xbox Game Pass PC games: For $10 per month, you can play more than 100 PC games via Game Pass. Here’s an up-to-date list of them all.
Cheap gaming PC deals: Maybe you’re looking for a deal on PC hardware to go along with those cheap games.
The best new cheap PC games, and a couple all-timers.
Dorfromantik – $9.99 on Steam
A calming puzzle game where you build villages by placing hexagonal tiles one after another. There are light goals and high scores if you want them, or you can just click tiles to assemble very nice little towns and feel at peace.
A Short Hike – $7.99 on Steam
With vibes similar to Animal Crossing, A Short Hike is a small game about exploring a cute lo-fi island. Chat with other characters, hike, and fly. Enjoy the journey, y’know?
Doom 64 – $4.99 on Steam
A great modern port of the Nintendo 64 exclusive, with completely different levels and vibes than classic Doom. It’s ominous! It feels like a bizarre alternate universe Doom, but even in an alternate universe Doom kicks ass.
Dishonored – $9.99 on Steam
A fantastic immersive sim, Dishonored is an action game that offers deep choice in how you traverse its environment and take out your enemies, lethally or not. Get creative and enjoy one of the coolest settings in PC gaming.
Terraria – $9.99 on Steam
A ludicrously good deal for a sandbox you can put years into. Terraria started a bit like a 2D Minecraft, but has grown into an elaborate sandbox RPG with huge quests. Even cheaper if you split a 4-pack with friends.
Looking for something to play with (or against) friends? Grab these for just a few bucks.
These action games and roguelikes may be over in an hour or in just a few minutes, but they’re made to keep pulling you back in again and again.
Some of our favorite ’90s and early 2000s PC games that we’d still recommend to anyone today.
These modern indie classics and adventure games may look small, but they tell big, unique stories that will stick with you.
Wes has been covering games and hardware for more than 10 years, first at tech sites like The Wirecutter and Tested before joining the PC Gamer team in 2014. Wes plays a little bit of everything, but he’ll always jump at the chance to cover emulation and Japanese games. When he’s not obsessively optimizing and re-optimizing a tangle of conveyor belts in Satisfactory (it’s really becoming a problem), he’s probably playing a 20-year-old RPG or some opaque ASCII roguelike. With a focus on writing and editing features, he seeks out personal stories and in-depth histories from the corners of PC gaming and its niche communities. 50% pizza by volume (deep dish, to be specific).
