We all know that free Android games aren’t always free these days, but many of them are very close if you have a little patience. Most free to play bottlenecks occur when players get impatient and waiting the game out can usually get around those pitfalls. What we have here are the best free Android games that you should be able to play comfortably without engaging in too many in-app purchases and we hope you enjoy them. This is a hall of fame style list so the options here will only change if something better comes along. If you want free Android games with no in-app purchases, we have that linked just below. Let’s get started. You can also check out our picks for the best games in 2020 in the video above.
Read Next: 10 best upcoming Android games — action, racing, strategy, and more
Try out more Android games:
Alto’s Odyssey
Price: Free to play
Alto’s Odyssey is a natural choice for a free Android game. It features simple mechanics, gorgeous graphics, and a relaxing style. Players ski down a hill while avoiding obstacles and making massive jumps. There are also items to collect that can be traded in for various customization options. The game relies heavily on its wallpaper-worthy graphics. They are simple, but effective and the dark, gradient colors add a good atmosphere for the game. It’s completely free to download and play with some limited ads. There are in-app purchases, but they are all for customization stuff so it’s entirely optional and it doesn’t affect game play. It’s kid friendly and fun. Noodlecake Studios also does Alto’s Adventure, the predecessor to this one. Here’s a list of the best endless runners if you want other options. Also, give the screenshot mode a try for some excellent desktop background ideas.
Asphalt 9: Legends
Price: Free to play
The Asphalt franchise has some of mobile’s most popular racing games. Asphalt 8: Airborne and Asphalt Xtreme were the big ones in the series. However, Asphalt 9: Legends came out in July 2018. This is the most recent game in the series now. It includes 50 cars, a bunch of challenges, and a bunch of content to play with. That includes online multiplayer, single player stuff, and more. It uses an auto-go mechanism so you can’t control your acceleration. That has angered some players. The graphics are good and there are social elements as well. It’s a freemium game. Thus, the online competitive aspect may be skewed a bit. However, the single player stuff is classically good arcade racing. You can also skip in-app purchases with extra grinding. It’s tedious but entirely doable. Here are some other great racing games on mobile as well.
Brawl Stars
Price: Free to play
Brawl Stars is Supercell’s latest hit game. It’s a brawler with online multiplayer elements as well as some MOBA elements. Players drop into a game with a couple of teammates, brawl with opponents, and try to win. There are a few game modes, including a straight brawl mode, a mode where you collect crystals, a heist mode where you steal the opponent’s treasure, and a bounty mode where you beat specific opponents on a team. It feels like a Supercell game and that’s mostly a good thing. Supercell also makes Clash Royale, Clash of Clans, and Boom Beach. All of those could also easily go on a list like this if you like auto battlers (Clash Royale) or kingdom builder strategy games (Clash of Clans and Boom Beach). You can find more beat ’em ups here if you want more of that.
Call of Duty: Mobile
Price: Free to play
Call of Duty: Mobile is the latest game on this list. We usually wait a bit to see how a game plays out, but this one is so intensely popular and so intensely good that we had to add it basically immediately. The game includes classic online FPS PvP like any Call of Duty. However, it also includes a 100-player battle royale mode similar to PUBG Mobile and Fortnite. That puts it in a rare category of a good regular FPS game like Critical Ops as well as a good battle royale like PUBG Mobile. The game has in-app purchases, but they seem to be solely for cosmetic gear and a good amount of it is available as in-game rewards. The game play is good and people seem to really like this one. It’s relatively new so there are some bugs, but those should be ironed out over time. There are some other great FPS games if this one doesn’t do it for you.
Critical Ops
Price: Free to play
Critical Ops is among the newer generation of first person shooters and it’s one of the best. In this title, you’ll battle terrorists in a variety of urban-oriented levels or you can play as the terrorists if you want to. It has a strong online multiplayer community where you can play with your friends as well. It’s still a work in progress, but it seems to hit all the right marks and it’s updated frequently. The only downside is that it doesn’t have the player population of more popular shooters like PUBG, Fortnite, or Call of Duty: Mobile. Of course, feel free to check out some other great shooters here as well.
Check out more Android games here:
EA Sports games
Price: Free to play
EA has the market cornered on sports games. They are the only developer with yearly launches for most sports, including their Madden NFL Overdrive game, FIFA Soccer, NBA Live Mobile, EA Sports UFC, and others. These games all have very similar elements. You can play the actual sport and there is a sim mechanic in all of these games. The graphics are usually pretty decent and the controls are generally good. However, EA sports games have heavy freemium elements. That is a frequent frustration for many players and it makes it difficult to recommend EA in general. Unfortunately, EA is the only developer that makes games for most sports so that makes them the best by default. There are a few decent soccer games here and some general sports games here. You can also check out the best baseball games here, golf games here, football games here, and basketball games here.
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
Price: Free to play
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is perhaps the best Final Fantasy-themed freemium game out there. It features tons of elements from the original games, including actual town and dungeon explorations, hidden treasures, secret dungeons, and tons of lore. The game play is simple to learn but you’ll need to think critically in order to beat bosses and hard opponents. You’re frequently rewarded for logging in daily and additional missions, quests, and activities helps keep the game fresh. This is about as good as it gets for free to play titles. Square Enix launched a spiritual successor, War of the Visions: FFBE in early 2020 and it’s an improving strategy RPG game that takes place in the same universe. You can find some other great gachas here, including Square Enix’s newest game, Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe.
Genshin Impact
Price: Free to play
Genshin Impact was a surprise release that is actually pretty good. It’s a mix of an action RPG with a gacha element. It has most of the usual gacha elements, including a story to play through and plenty of teammates to summon. However, this one is a lot less restrictive and comes with a completely open world and some satisfying combat mechanics. The graphics and game play are both surprisingly good. Plus, you can play with people on PS4, iOS, and PC as well. This is a sneaky good game despite its free to play price tag and gacha label.
Legends of Runeterra
Price: Free to play
Legends of Runeterra is the newest game on the list. It’s a card dueling game similar to Hearthstone (another excellent free to play game). Players collect cards, build decks, and duel each other until someone wins. You pick a champion, build the deck around it, and that helps define your strategy. It’s honestly a lot like the Commander game type in Magic: The Gathering. It’s also the latest mobile game by Riot Games, developers of the super popular League of Legends. Their other mobile offerings include Teamfight Tactics (another good free to play game) as well as their upcoming mobile version of League of Legends. Of course, there are other excellent card style dueling games here as well.
Nintendo games
Price: Free to play (usually)
Nintendo is an easy recommendation for free Android games. They have games in a variety of different genres and most of them tug at the nostalgia factor. Some Nintendo titles include Dragalia Lost, Fire Emblem: Heroes, Mario Kart Tour, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. There is also a Dr. Mario World game if you like puzzlers. Each game is cleanly done with smooth game play and colorful graphics. A few, like Mario Kart Tour, is a bit rough around the edges with its free to play elements, but otherwise Nintendo does a great job of delivering good experiences. We definitely recommend Fire Emblem Heroes to strategy RPG fans especially. Fun fact, Mario Kart Tour has the second largest mobile launch of all time behind only Call of Duty: Mobile
These Android games might pique your interest too:
Pocket City
Price: Free / $2.99
Pocket City is as close to SimCity as you can get on Android. The game starts out as many other city builders. You build roads, residential zones, commercial zones, and important buildings. There are disasters to deal with and a surprisingly deep economic and crime mechanics to keep track of. The free version of the game doens’t have quite as many features as the premium version and it has ads as well. However, most of the extra features are just that, extras, and you can play the core game for free without paying for it. This is easily one of the best simulators on Android right now, even if it had a rough patch when it started.
Pokemon Go
Price: Free to play
Pokemon Go was the biggest mobile game of 2016. Actually, it was the biggest ever. Even though its popularity has tapered off a bit, the game is still a very solid free option. Players can explore the real world around them all while catching Pokemon, taking down gyms, and finding Pokestops. New additions include legendary Pokemon, raid battles, trainer battles (with some caveats), and more. You can even trade Pokemon in the game now. The game continues to evolve beyond what many remember it to be. When it eventually ends its run, it’ll go down as one of the greatest and most iconic mobile games ever. It stands alone atop the best augmented reality games list.
PUBG Mobile and Fortnite
Price: Free to play
PUBG Mobile hasn’t been out globally for long. However, it’s already one of the most popular mobile shooters available. It features a 100-player battle royale on a small island. Players collect gear, weapons, and vehicles on the island and battle it out. The winner is the last person standing. It also includes mechanics like a shrinking play area to keep games from going too long as well as an expanding list of content, cross-overs, and customization items. Fortnite is a similar game, except it adds a crafting element along with a less serious game atmosphere. Fornite is available for install if you want to play it, but the install process is a little complicated. There are some other battle royales for Android here too if you want more options.
Roblox
Price: Free to play
Roblox is one of the most popular games in the world right now. It’s a sandbox game with a metric ton of content to play through. The game is ancient by mobile gaming standards, but the ever increasing amount of things to do keeps it relevant to this day. Players can play stuff that other players create or create stuff themselves. The mobile app has complete cross-platform support with the other versions of the game and includes a chat function. The downloadable content is occasionally NSFW, so make sure to monitor your kids if you let them play. Here are some other great sandbox games as well.
Smash Hit
Price: Free / $1.99
Smash Hit is one of the best endless runners ever made. It uses a unique first person perspective and you have to throw metal balls at glass panels in order to avoid taking damage. Your hit points double as your ammo count so there is a micromanaging aspect to the game to throw as few balls as possible while also being hit as little as possible. The free version of the game contains the full game from start to finish. The premium version adds saving and player stats.
Thank you for reading! Check these out too:
If we missed any of the best free Android games, tell us about them in the comments! To see our complete list of best app lists, click here.