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How To Find Free Games on Steam, With Desktop, Mobile, and App Instructions!

How To Find Free Games on Steam, With Desktop, Mobile, and App Instructions!

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Last year I shared links to hundreds of free games on Steam. I have since stopped writing such posts. Yet, some readers may still want to check out the new free titles that are released on the platform each week. To help with that, here are some instructions.

Of course, there are a multitude of ways to get to the Steam Store. As such, I’ve prepared a wide variety of ways to explain the process. These include,

Note: The search results shown in this post are just representative examples. I haven’t played any of the titles shown in this post. Nor am I associated with any of the developers.

Finding Free Games With a Desktop Browser

The first thing to do is to go to the Steam Store at https://store.steampowered.com.

Load the page and near the top you will see a search box with the words “Search the Store.” Click on the magnifying glass that is to the right of it.

That will take you to a new page. On the right side you’ll see various options. In the “Narrow by Price” section, move the bar to the left until it says “Free.”

Below that you’ll see other sections that allow you to filter your results by different preferences, such as tags. See below if you want more tips on that. A few sections down you’ll see one titled “Show selected types.” Click on Games.

Near the top of the screen, to the left of “Narrow by Price,” you’ll see a selection for Sort by with the default value of “Relevance.” Change it to “Release date.”

This will then list all of Steam’s free games in order of release, from newest to oldest. You’re done!

Other Options on Filtering Titles

As I alluded to earlier, you can do additional filtering of your search results on the Steam Store. Here are some tips about that.

With the Narrow by Tag, you can have Steam only show you genres or topics that you’re interested in. Some examples include Action, Horror, JRPG, and more. You can also search for specific tags. One helpful aspect about that is that after typing a few letters it gives you suggested results based on what you’ve written thus far.

For those who want to try out the most highly-rated releases, and are not concerned about when they came out, changing the Sort by value to “User Reviews” will show them to you. These may be from 2024, 2023, or earlier.

If you’re interested in demos, go to the Show selected types filter and change “Games” to “Demos.”

You can also Narrow by Feature, like controller support, and also accessibility features, among many other choices. Narrow by Deck compatibility is also available.

There’s truly a huge number of free games on Steam, and I hope that you’ll find something to play when you need a break!

Now, as I said earlier, the below sections explain how to list only free games on mobile phones and the Steam App. Each of these instructions just have images with captions explaining what to do.

The next section below shares the instructions for a desktop browser and other filtering options (again), but with pictures

Finding Free Games on the Desktop (Photos Only)

Steam on a PC - 1) Go to the Steam Store at https://store.steampowered.com.
Steam on a PC – 1) Go to the Steam Store at https://store.steampowered.com.
Steam on a PC - 2) At the top-right, click on Search the store and then choose the magnifying glass.
2) At the top-right, find the Search Box and then choose the magnifying glass.
Steam on a PC - 3) A new screen will appear. On the right side you will see a Narrow by Price slider.
3) A new screen will appear. On the right side you will see a Narrow by Price slider. If you don’t see this, you can make your browser window larger or click on the options menu.
Steam on a PC - 4) Move the Narrow by Price slider all the way to the left to only show Free games.
4) Move it all the way to the left to only show Free games.
Steam on a PC - 5) Still on the right side, there will be a filter for Show selected types. Choose the Games option.
5) While still on the right side, there will be a filter for “Show selected types.” Choose the “Games” option. It’s a few sections down from the Narrow by Price one.
Steam on a PC - 6) Back at the top, at the Sort by dropdown, change Relevance to Release date.
6) Back at the top of the screen, at the Sort by dropdown, change “Relevance” to “Release date.”
Steam on a PC - 7) You will now see a list of all the free games in order of newest to oldest.
7) You will now see a list of all the free games in order of newest to oldest.
Steam on a PC - Other Options #1 - You can narrow by tag, along with searching for one.
Other Options #1 – You can narrow by tag, along with searching for one.
Steam on a PC - Other Options #2 - If you want demos, you can change Games to Demos in the Show selected types section.
Other Options #2 – If you want demos, you can change “Games” to “Demos” in the “Show selected types” section.
Steam on a PC - Other Options #3 - Narrow by feature is available.
Other Options #3 – “Narrow by feature” is also available.
Steam on a PC - Other Options #4 - Along with Narrow by Controller Support.
Other Options #4 – As is “Narrow by Controller Support.”
Steam on a PC - Other Options #5 - There's also options for filtering by accessibility feature.
Other Options #5 – There’s also options for filtering by accessibility feature, and much more.

Finding Free Games on Your Phone Through a Browser (Photos Only)

Steam on a Phone - 1) Bring up your web browser, open a new tab, and search for Steam.
Steam on a Phone – 1) Bring up your web browser, open a new tab, and search for Steam.
Steam on a Phone - 2) The first search result should be https://store.steampowered.com. Tap on it.
2) The first search result should be https://store.steampowered.com. Tap on it.
Steam on a Phone - 3) The Steam homepage will appear.
3) The Steam homepage will appear.
Steam on a Phone - 4) Near the top of the screen you will see a magnifying glass. Tap on it.
4) Near the top of the screen you will see a magnifying glass. Tap on it.
Steam on a Phone - 5) A new screen will appear.
5) A new screen will appear.
Steam on a Phone - 6) Below the magnifying glass there will be a button for options, or the sandwich menu. Press it.
6) Below the magnifying glass there will be a button for options, or the sandwich menu. Press it.
Steam on a Phone - 7) A set of options will appear on the side. At the top you will see a Narrow by Price scroll bar.
7) A set of options will appear on the side. At the top you will see a “Narrow by Price” scroll bar.
Steam on a Phone - 8) Move it all the way to the left so it says Free.
8) Move it all the way to the left so it says “Free.”
Steam on a Phone - 9) Down below there will also be a place to show only selected types of content. Check the Games box.
9) Down below there will also be a place to show only selected types of content. Check the “Games” box.
Steam on a Phone - 10) Near the top of the screen tap to the left of the menu to get back to the search results.
10) Near the top of the screen tap to the left of the menu to get back to the search results.
Steam on a Phone - 11) At the Sort by dropdown change Relevance to Release date.
11) At the Sort by dropdown change “Relevance” to “Release date.”
Steam on a Phone - 12) The most recent free games will then be shown in order of newest to oldest.
12) The most recent free games will then be shown in order of newest to oldest. Of course, You can also modify additional filter options to find more of what you’d like to play. Have fun!

Finding Free Games Using the Steam App (Photos Only)

Note: These photos are from an e-ink phone, the Hisense A7 CC. I use it for reading and using apps that don’t require Google Play Services. That’s the reason why the colors are faint and look like water colors. My fellow e-ink fans will probably enjoy seeing this!

The Steam App - 1) Find your Steam app on your device and click on it.
The Steam App – 1) Find the Steam app on your device and click on it.
The Steam App - 2) Once it's loaded, go to the main page of the app. It should look something like this.
2) Once it’s loaded, go to the main page of the app. It should look something like this.
The Steam App - 3) Tap on the magnifying glass to go to the search screen.
3) Tap on the magnifying glass to go to the search screen.
The Steam App - 4) The search screen will look something like this.
4) The search screen will look something like this.
The Steam App - 5) Near the top of the screen you will see Filters (2). Tap it to bring up filtering options.
5) Near the top of the screen you will see “Filters (2).” Tap it to bring up filtering options.
The Steam App - 6) The top option will be Narrow by Price. It will default to Any Price.
6) The top option will be Narrow by Price. It will default to “Any Price.”
The Steam App - 7) Move the scroll bar to the left until it says Free.
7) Move the scroll bar to the left until it says “Free.”
The Steam App - 8) Move down to the bottom and check the box for Games. This will be in the Show selected types section.
8) Move further down to the “Show selected types” section. Check the box for “Games.”
The Steam App - 9) On either side of the filter menu you'll see a bit of previous screen. Tap on the left or right to get back to the game list.
9) On either side of the filter menu you’ll see a bit of previous screen. Tap on the left or right to get back to the game list.
The Steam App - 10) At the top there will be a dropdown menu for Sort by with it defaulting to Relevance.
10) At the top there will be a dropdown menu for “Sort by” with it defaulting to “Relevance.”
The Steam App - 11) At the Sort by dropdown, change Relevance to Release date.
11) Change this dropdown from “Relevance” to “Release date.”
The Steam App - 12) You will now see all the free games in order of newest to oldest.
12) You will now see all the free games in order of newest to oldest. If you’d like, change other filters on the side to fine tune your list to closer to what types of games you’re looking for. Have fun!
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