If you prefer your Nintendo Switch games to be completely free, then do we have a treat in store for you. In this list, we’ve rounded up the best free Switch games that you can play right now without paying a penny.
We’ve included options from a range of different genres, including shooters, battle royales, racing games, sports games, card battlers, and platformers. Chances are, no matter your tastes, there’s a game on this list for you.
We’ve also got our best free games list, which rounds up the best of the best regardless of platform.

Fortnite | Epic Games
If you haven’t heard of Fortnite yet, you simply must be living under a rock or another planet. It’s officially one of the biggest games in the world.
Starting life as Gears of War’s horde mode with building mechanics, it quickly leaped onto the battle royale bandwagon founded by PUBG. Since then, it has become a legitimate metaverse, with Rocket Racing, LEGO Fortnite, a Guitar Hero-style mode, and even full blown live music and movie watching sessions.

Rocket League | Epic Games
Rocket League is football with cars. Except it’s much more than just that. The basic principle is much the same: you have to try and score while preventing your opponents from doing the same.
Pretty soon though you’ll be pulling off stunts that will make Fast and Furious look like amateur hour as you glide through the air, scoring goals from ridiculous angles.

Pokémon Unite | The Pokémon Company
If you like League of Legends but wish it had more collectible monsters, Pokémon Unite is the game for you. It’s a beginner-friendly MOBA in which you play as your favourite Pokémon.
In a nice touch, as your Pokémon level up they also evolve. So you may start off as a basic Charmander but pretty soon you’ll be Charizard wrecking everyone.

Apex Legends | Respawn Entertainmen t
Apex Legends is basically the Titanfall battle royale. It takes place in the same universe as Respawn’s shooter series but removes the mechs in favour of tight, boots on the ground shooting mechanics.
It also borrows from hero shooters with a variety of collectible heroes to play as, each with their own selection of skins, mechanics, and abilities.

Fall Guys | Epic Games
If Takeshi’s Castle had an official video game tie in, it would be Fall Guys. This silly battle royale platformer saved all of our sanities during covid lockdown, providing multiplayer fun to the masses.
All you have to do is survive till the end of a round. This could involve a platforming gauntlet, a spinning wheel to jump over, or chasing and grabbing tails off your opponents. It’s zany fun.

Warframe | Digital Extremes
Warframe showed many a free to play publisher how it’s done. By that, we mean a game doesn’t have to be a greedy cash grab. Instead, it offers deep gameplay, co-op fun, and lots of collectible characters.
You can pay to advance quickly, or play to progress entirely for free. And boy is there a lot to do in this game, with tight levels to beat, open world areas to explore, and a variety of pets to collect.

Overwatch 2 | Blizzard Entertainment
The sequel to Overwatch is pretty much more of the same hero shooting fun minus the price. That’s right: this is an entirely free experience with a wide variety of heroes to unlock and skins to use.
Much like a MOBA, you need to master your characters to fly through ranked mode. Or, you can just kick back and enjoy casual modes knowing it doesn’t really matter.

Brawlhalla | Ubisoft
Brawlhalla is Super Smash Bros. with Ubisoft characters. That was easy to explain! Well, it’s a bit more than that thanks to its comic visual style and, most importantly, free cost of entry.
Master your character’s moves, progress a battle pass, and learn the ins and outs of each of arena in this multiplayer fighting game.

Sky: Children of the Light | thatgamecompany
Sky: Children of the Light performed the impossible: it’s an MMORPG that doesn’t feature any fighting whatsoever. That it lasted longer than a day is a heck of a feat in itself.
It’s by the talented folks behind Journey, and really is an experience all of its own. The joy here is in discovery. What’s round the corner? How do we all work together to solve this puzzle without talking? You really have to see it to believe it.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel | Konami
If you’re into card games, you have to check out Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel. This is undoubtedly the best free card game on Switch, and is a true love letter to the anime universe it takes place in.
Summon stuff, participate in events, and hang out with your favourite characters in this card battler.

Dauntless | Phoenix Labs
Dauntless takes the fiendishly addictive gameplay of Monster Hunter, gives it a Fortnite style makeover, and plonks it into the free to play landscape.
You battle monsters for parts, craft new weapons and gear out of them, then go out and to it all over again. As you progress, you can take on increasingly challenging monsters, allowing you to craft better gear.
It’s an addictive formula.

Ninjala | GungHo Online
The only Switch exclusive free to play game on our list is a good’un. It takes the aesthetics of Splatoon and the hack and slash gameplay of For Honour to create something a little bit different.
You battle enemies in a variety of different arenas, with ridiculously oversized toy weapons. The combat is surprisingly deep, with a variety of moves to pull off.

World of Tanks Blitz | Wargaming Group
World of Tanks Blitz is the mobile version of WoT. It basically runs on lower end hardware, but that’s all that’s really different. This is the same in-depth tank warfare simulator you know and love.
Collect tanks, battle in PvP, and upgrade them. Then, do it all over again. It’s addictive stuff.

Disney Speedstorm | Gameloft
If you can’t afford Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Disney Speedstorm is a great alternative. It’s by the makers of Asphalt, so you can expect great racing mechanics and a solid sense of speed.
However, it does feature all of your favourite Disney characters, which you might actually prefer over Nintendo’s offerings. It gets regular updates, with new events and characters dropping all of the time.