These are the top PC games to play right now

Editor

Publish Date: August 17, 2022

The PC game market is a big one, which can make narrowing down the top PC games to play a trick proposition. But we’ve assembled the top 5 best PC games to play, whether you’re looking for a temporary distraction or something you can sink your teeth into for months to come.

While the gaming industry has seen waves of interest in consoles and mobile devices, seasoned gamers repeatedly return to the PC as their main gaming platform. With decades of history and thousands of iconic titles available, the sheer degree of choice available to PC gamers can make it difficult for newcomers or veterans looking for their next favorite game to even know where to begin. A good place to start is with some of the top PC games available to play today.

These are the top PC games chosen for their popularity, gameplay mechanics, PC optimization, and active player base.

GTA

With nearly 450 million units sold and multiple Guinness World Records, GTA remains one of the best and most popular games on the market, whether you’re playing the single-player campaign of Grand Theft Auto V or the vast multiplayer game that is GTA Online. Its open-world design and relatively simple gameplay offer a refreshing break from the complex, strategy-heavy titles that are often popular on PC. Over the years, the community has played a huge role in keeping GTA relevant, thanks to a massive modding scene, role-play servers, and more.

grand theft auto 5

It’s also one of the most popular games among streamers, offering high replay value and consistent opportunities for community connection. On Twitch, GTA consistently ranks among the most-watched gaming titles many years after the latest edition of the game, proving its popularity among the fan base. And that popularity is set to spike once again with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 has quickly cemented itself as one of the best PC games in recent years with its rich storytelling and deep RPG mechanics. Developed by Larian Studios, the game reached over 875,000 concurrent players on Steam at its peak, making it one of the platform’s most-played titles ever. That’s a massive feat for a role-playing game that’s primarily focused on a single-player narrative experience, though it also boasts impressive multiplayer options that allow multiple players to effectively experience the game’s story together.

baldur's gate 6

Baldur’s Gate 3 also won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023 and swept multiple categories across other major gaming events. With over 1 million user reviews and an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, BG3 continues to dominate both critically and commercially. Its massive popularity is both understandable and undeniable.

Dota 2

Dota 2 reigns over the PC community as the MOBA that has remained consistently relevant for more than two decades now. With several hundred thousand players competing concurrently throughout each month and an all-time peak of 1,291,328, its longevity and popularity are both hard to ignore. While it’s tough to pinpoint a single reason behind Dota 2’s popularity, fans appreciate its high skill ceiling and deep strategic gameplay. There are few other multiplayer experiences quite like Dota 2.

The game has also built one of the largest esports circuits in the world, consistently offering prize pools among the biggest in all of competitive gaming. This massive financial incentive is one of the many reasons why aspiring pro players continue to grind day in and day out, hoping to carve their names into Dota 2 history.

Competing isn’t necessary to enjoy this MOBA, however. It’s plethora of unique abilities, items, and game mechanics make it a great candidate for anyone wanting to deep-dive a new game that will provide entertainment for many hours to come. The depth of learning opportunities in Dota 2 can be intimidating for some new players, but for others, it’s a big part of what attracts them to the game.

Counter-Strike 2

Developed and published by Valve, Counter-Strike 2 has earned its place as one of the best first-person shooters on the market. Originally built as a simple Half-Life mod, it went on to inspire an entire generation of FPS titles in the new tactical shooter subgenre. Yet no matter how many new games were clearly inspired by its design, fans continue to return to Counter-Strike for its no-nonsense gameplay and precise shooting mechanics. This consistency has helped the game maintain a strong player base, with more than one million players regularly booting the game up at the same time.

cs2

Its all-time peak reached over 1.8 million concurrent players, and it remains a top title on Steam. While Valve doesn’t necessarily roll out as many game-changing updates as you see in many live PC title, CS2 fans appreciate how the game continues to play the same over the years. The simplicity of its base gameplay, combined with the depth of its competitive mechanics, is what keeps its players coming back.

League of Legends

League of Legends, developed and published by Riot Games, has been instrumental in bringing worldwide recognition to esports. Inspired by the Defense of the Ancients a custom map for Warcraft III, Riot’s founders sought to develop a stand-alone game in the same genre with a long-term competitive future.

Winterblessed Warwick

LoL’s esports scene plays a big role in its sustained popularity, with events like the annual World Championship drawing in many millions of viewers. In 2023, the World Finals peaked at over 6.4 million concurrent viewers, and that wasn’t accounting for many more millions watching via Chinese platforms.

With over 150 champions and constant balance updates, the game maintains a player base in the tens of millions monthly, making it one of the most played and watched games in the world.

League of Legends is in many ways similar to Dota 2, and the two MOBAs do share a common point of origin. But while Dota 2 is a vast game full of open possibilities, League of Legends brings a little more structure to its proceedings. The number of champions, abilities, and items in League can still be intimidating, but it might offer an easier point of entry for players who are entirely new to the MOBA genre and want to give it a shot.