Want to try downloading some old PC games for free? Here are the sites where you can find the best games of old, free to download.
Modern gamers have an unrivaled bounty of free games. Many of the most popular online games use the free-to-play model to entice users. There are free games on Steam, in your browser, and on your smartphone.
However, you don't always want the latest AAA title or free battle royale. You want to scratch the nostalgia itch. Luckily, there are a host of websites dedicated to precisely this. Here are the best sites where you can download old PC games for free.
1. Abandonia
Abandonia is an index of abandonware "dedicated to classic DOS games." Abandonware titles are games (or software) with expired copyright, or games which are no longer supported by the publisher. (What is abandonware, anyway?)
Abandonia was founded in 1999 when the concept of abandonware was merely two years old. After a few inactive years, Abandonia blossomed into one of the leading sites where you can download your favorite old games. At the time of writing, Abandonia features over 1,100 downloadable games with over 800,000 members.
2. Abandonware Dos
Abandonware Dos is another abandonware site focusing on---you guessed it---DOS games. It also features a reasonable repertoire of Windows titles, though nothing too recent. (It cuts off at 2002, meaning you can grab all-time greats Sid Meier's SimGolf and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds!)
Abandonware Dos is a very active site, too. Each title comes with a site rating, title specification (e.g. abandonware, protected status, freeware), release date, screenshots, as well as a recent(ish) video play-through and snippets of game-related facts.
3. RGB Classic Games
RGB Classic Games features a wide range of classic DOS games, previously unreleased titles, and even some "modern" DOS titles. The entire site is "dedicated to preserving classic games for defunct PC operating systems" such as DOS, CP/M-86, OS/2, Win16, and Win9x, as well as making them easier to play on modern systems.
You can search for games using genre and operating system, as well as the company name, legal status, year released, and interestingly, video mode. Furthermore, testament to the mission of RGB Classic Games, you can play a significant number of titles on a site-hosted emulator, including Keen Dreams, Hexen, and one of my all-time favorites, Transport Tycoon.
4. My Abandonware
My Abandonware is a great place to download old PC games, plus some of the more recent additions to the abandonware list, too.
You'll find listings for over 15,000 titles, including "some very rare titles found in the deep web," as well as "some sent by our awesome visitors." The small team running My Abandonware actively maintains the site, making updates and improvements, plus adding new content.
5. Games Nostalgia
Our trip through your childhood ends with Games Nostalgia. Games Nostalgia features hundreds of amazing games that hit the market between 1985 and 1995. The Games Nostalgia site is easy to use, allowing you to peruse games by genres, tags, new arrivals, popularity, and more.
Games Nostalgia also goes the extra mile by packaging each game in its own emulator, available for both Windows (and in many cases, macOS, too). In that, Games Nostalgia removes any additional steps to playing your favorite old games. Just download, unzip, and start playing!
