Free Old School Games on Steam
Steam currently has 7,428 Old School games available to download and play. Explore our list of the best free games ranked by popularity and ratings. Data for this list is calculated from reviews and player counts reported directly by Steam and will be updated in real-time. Free Old School game rankings were last updated on 1/3/2025.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Best old school games on Steam
- Best old school Steam Deck games
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- Best old school Linux games on Steam
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
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1. IdleOn - The Idle RPG
The RPG where your characters keep leveling up when you're gone! Create unique class combos, and spend loot on powerful upgrades, all while cooking, mining, fishing, breeding, farming, and slaying bosses!
IdleOn - The Idle RPG holds the #1 spot for "best free Old School game on Steam" with a Player Score of 77. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 19,097 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 15,049 positive reviews and 4,048 negative reviews — making it "Mostly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play IdleOn - The Idle RPG on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 4/2/2021 |
| Developer | Lavaflame2 |
| Publisher | Lavaflame2 |
| Steam App Id | 1476970 |
2. Galaxy Idle Clicker
Embark on an interstellar journey with Galaxy Idle Clicker! Conquer galaxies, upgrade your spaceship, and face off against a myriad of enemy ships. With engaging minigames, powerful upgrades, GIC delivers an unparalleled idle space adventure. Join the cosmic conquest today and dominate the universe!
Galaxy Idle Clicker has achieved a Player Score of 74, placing it in the #2 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 494 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 385 positive reviews and 109 negative reviews — making it "Mostly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Galaxy Idle Clicker on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
3. Idle Slayer
Idle Slayer is an incremental game with idle and active playstyle mechanics, medieval pixel art visuals and retro 8-bit sounds and music.
Idle Slayer has achieved a Player Score of 83, placing it in the #3 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 8,089 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,924 positive reviews and 1,165 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.
| Release Date | 12/22/2020 |
| Developer | Pablo Leban |
| Publisher | Pablo Leban |
| Steam App Id | 1353300 |
4. Old School RuneScape
The best retro fantasy MMORPG on the planet. Old School is RuneScape but… older! This is the open world you know and love, but as it was in 2007. Saying that, it’s even better than that – Old School is shaped by you, its players, with regular new content, fixes and expansions voted for by the fans!
Old School RuneScape has achieved a Player Score of 86, placing it in the #4 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 16,926 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 14,941 positive reviews and 1,985 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Old School RuneScape on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
5. Royal Quest Online
Fantasy comes alive in this vast yet cozy free-to-play MMORPG! Choose between 4 classes and 8 subclasses, explore hundreds of locations, thousands of quests, dive into varied PvE and PvP modes, enter the unique vibrant world, and trade with other players. Play, explore, fight and be victorious!
Royal Quest Online has achieved a Player Score of 78, placing it in the #5 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,945 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,585 positive reviews and 360 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, there is no confirmed information regarding Steam Deck support for this game.
| Release Date | 12/19/2024 |
| Developers | |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 2962300 |
6. RetroArch
RetroArch is an open source and cross platform frontend/framework for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications
RetroArch has achieved a Player Score of 87, placing it in the #6 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 7,473 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,711 positive reviews and 762 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, there is no confirmed information regarding Steam Deck support for this game.
7. EverQuest
Welcome to EverQuest® - the online game that started it all! No other MMO matches EverQuest's sheer content, now with 29 expansions and countless updates. EverQuest is free-to-play.
EverQuest has achieved a Player Score of 77, placing it in the #7 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,285 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,836 positive reviews and 449 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run EverQuest on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 12/13/2012 |
| Franchise | Daybreak Game Company |
| Developer | Darkpaw Games |
| Publisher | Daybreak Game Company |
| Steam App Id | 205710 |
8. Idle Skilling
Idle Skilling is the ultimate Idle Game with years of content! Meant to be played for 5-10 minutes a day, you gradually unlock new skills like mining, fishing, pet breeding, crusading, potion-making, lab-research, construction, and more! With new updates coming, you'll never run out of stuff to do!
Idle Skilling has achieved a Player Score of 69, placing it in the #8 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 2,119 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,516 positive reviews and 603 negative reviews — making it "Mostly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is not possible to play or run Idle Skilling on the Steam Deck.
| Release Date | 9/15/2022 |
| Developer | Lavaflame2 |
| Publisher | Lavaflame2 |
| Steam App Id | 1048370 |
9. SOVL: Fantasy Warfare
SOVL is a ruleset for playing fantasy wargames. It can be played with miniatures on a table or digitally on Steam.
SOVL: Fantasy Warfare has achieved a Player Score of 84, placing it in the #9 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 1,660 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 1,468 positive reviews and 192 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on both Windows and Mac systems. At the moment, it is possible to play SOVL: Fantasy Warfare on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 6/29/2023 |
| Developer | Dalen Studios |
| Publisher | Dalen Studios |
| Steam App Id | 1870300 |
10. Caliber
Caliber is a team-based online shooter focused on special forces units from all over the world. More than 70 operators with unique abilities and weapons as well as various game modes and maps are waiting for you.
Caliber has achieved a Player Score of 75, placing it in the #10 spot for the best free Old School games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 19,689 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 15,086 positive reviews and 4,603 negative reviews — making it "Mostly Positive" on Steam.
It can be played and ran on Windows systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Caliber on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Release Date | 4/12/2023 |
| Franchise | 1C Game Studios |
| Developer | 1C Game Studios |
| Publishers | |
| Steam App Id | 307950 |
More Free Old School Games
Explore even more rankings for the 100 best free Old School games available on Steam.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,810 | 4/2/2021 | 77 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 1,258 | 7/18/2024 | 74 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 869 | 12/22/2020 | 83 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 866 | 2/24/2021 | 86 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 592 | 12/19/2024 | 78 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 485 | 9/14/2021 | 87 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 300 | 12/13/2012 | 77 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 286 | 9/15/2022 | 69 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 262 | 6/29/2023 | 84 | Free | Steam Charts | |
| 253 | 4/12/2023 | 75 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 163 | 10/16/2021 | 61 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 132 | 3/1/2011 | 73 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 116 | 5/21/2014 | 82 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 111 | 7/15/2024 | 84 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 107 | 8/21/2023 | 80 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 97 | 9/3/2022 | 72 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 75 | 8/11/2020 | 74 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 46 | 4/16/2024 | 80 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 42 | 12/15/2022 | 88 | Free | Steam Charts | |
 | 37 | 10/31/2013 | 70 | Free | Steam Charts |
Soures & References
Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Player counts and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 3). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 3). IdleOn - The Idle RPG on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 14). Galaxy Idle Clicker on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 14). Idle Slayer on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 8). Old School RuneScape on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 14). Royal Quest Online on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 14). RetroArch on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 17). EverQuest on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 11). Idle Skilling on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 19). SOVL: Fantasy Warfare on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2025, January 8). Caliber on Steam. Steam Store.