It’s shaping up to be another great year for gaming. Udonis recently reported that the number of worldwide mobile gamers just hit 2.2 billion, while Exploding Topics estimates there are 1.8 billion PC gamers. These two platforms are booming, largely thanks to the huge range of free-to-play (F2P) games that can be downloaded across them. Gaming on mobile and PC also makes it easy for people to visit different gaming sites, too, which is something you can’t do on console. These sites range from online casinos to retro arcade game collections, so let’s take a close look at some of the best options available to players now that 2025 is officially underway.
Biggest Gaming Sites: 2025 Overview
Stake.us
Have you been active on Kick or Twitch recently? If the answer is yes, you’ve probably seen some of the streamers on those platforms playing popular casino games like blackjack, roulette, and slots. When they play these games, most streamers are using Stake.us, a social sweepstakes casino that exploded in popularity back in 2022. The reason why Stake.us got so popular to begin with is because legendary rapper Drake signed a $100 million-per-year deal with them to do some promotion. Since then, Stake.us has stacked its library with thousands of free-to-play casino games, including live dealer games, slots, and more. Plus, anyone who joins the site and wins enough ‘Stake Cash’ — the site’s digital currency — can redeem a variety of different prizes. And if you’re not sure whether to join Stake.us or another social casino entirely, you can check out this huge list of all sweeps casino bonuses to get a better idea of which site might be most suited to you.
2. Steam
It’s official: Steam is the world’s biggest PC gaming site. And if you’ve never used it before, don’t worry, it’s incredibly simple. Steam boasts over 50,000 games to download, ranging from indie titles (Kronos Sword, Cult of the Lamb, Starcom: Unknown Space) to all-time classics (GTA V, Half-Life, Resident Evil 4). From a PC gamer’s perspective, it’s definitely the site to be. There are even chat rooms, group chat, and voice chat options on the Steam platform, making it great for people who want to play with friends or meet new people who enjoy similar games to them.
3. Free 80s Arcade
If you’re a fan of classic arcade games, Free 80s Arcade is a gaming site that should definitely be near the top of your to-try list. It offers a warm, nostalgic, and incredibly entertaining range of arcade games from the 80s, including all-time classics like Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and Pac-Man. Whether you’re playing on mobile or PC, all you have to do is hit the ‘Enter’ key and start playing, with none of the games requiring any type of download. And if you weren’t around during the 80s, which many people consider to be the peak of arcade gaming, this is the perfect opportunity for you to hop in a virtual time machine and go back in time to experience what it was really like during the golden era for arcades.
4. CrazyGames
CrazyGames is still one of the main go-to sites for free-to-play games, attracting anywhere from 30 million to 40 million visitors a month. If you’ve been gaming on PC or mobile for a while, you’ve probably visited this site before. But if you haven’t, it’s home to a collection of over 4,000 games that don’t require any type of download. Many of the games are multiplayer and cover all the major genres, including action, FPS, and sports. And if you create an account on the site, there’s a handy little ‘favourite’ button that allows you to manually save all of the games you like. This way, whenever you log back in, the games are super easy to access and you can pick up where you left off.
5. Epic Games
Even if you’re only a casual gamer, you’ll know about Epic Games. It’s the company behind some of the most popular games from modern times. Fortnite, Fall Guys, Rocket League — the list is endless. Surprisingly, though, not everyone is aware that Epic Games has its own website and store where you can download most of their games for free and start building your own library. A lot of these games are exclusive titles, too, so you’re getting a great deal. Plus, the Epic Games store also comes with voice chat, text chat, and group chat options, which is ideal if you regularly play with friends and need a point of contact for when you’re all in a game together.
Are Free-to-Play Games Really Free?
You’ll notice that most of the sites we’ve discussed in this guide offer games that are available to play (or download) for free. Naturally, whenever a game is offered for free, players can be sceptical and wonder whether it’s genuinely free or not. What we can tell you is that almost all free-to-play games are actually free. For example, on the CrazyGames site, you can play any of the games there for an unlimited number of hours and never have to stop. And if you’re wondering how this is even possible, it’s quite simple: free-to-play games typically make money through in-game advertisements or purchases. This way, the game publishers can make money while still providing their games for free, so everybody wins.
Is PC Better Than Mobile for Gaming?
No matter which gaming site you want to visit, you can do it using PC or mobile. There’s always been a big debate about which of the two is better, but the honest truth is that it comes down to personal preference. If you’re someone who wants greater computing power, better graphics, more customization options, and a much bigger screen size, then PC is right for you. On the other hand, if you prefer a smaller device that allows you to play on-the-go anytime and anywhere, then mobile is more suitable. Or, you can simply divide your time between the two platforms so that you get the best of both worlds. After all, that’s what most of today’s gamers do; buying a gaming PC for when they’re at home and then using their mobile (iOS, Android) whenever they’re out travelling.
Gaming Trends to Look Out for in 2025
With 2025 locked and loaded, it looks set to be another great year for gaming trends — but what exactly can you expect over the coming months? Here are just some of the key things to look out for:
Explosive Growth of eSports
Gaming itself is more popular than ever, but so is competitive gaming (also known as ‘eSports’). In 2025, the growth of eSports is expected to continue, which will largely be driven by great events like the Fortnite World Cup, The International 2025 (part of the legendary Dota 2 tournament series), and the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. This is amazing for the wider industry, too, as it encourages more people to start gaming and connects fans of popular games with the best players on the competitive scene.
Blockchain Integration
Blockchain integration is becoming a big deal in gaming. For example, we’ve already seen a lot of games start to integrate NFTs as in-game items, affording players the opportunity to have genuine ownership over them and even trade them with each other. Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained and The Sandbox are just some of the games that have done this — and there will no doubt be plenty more of them to come this year (and it probably won’t be long before more mainstream games start to incorporate them, too). If you’re a fan of crypto or NFTs and have invested in them before, it’s definitely something to be excited about.
More F2P Games
Moving forward, it’s highly likely that more F2P games will keep hitting the market. From the perspective of the developers, it’s a no-brainer. Free games typically get the most downloads and are an excellent way to integrate players into a wider ecosystem, where they can then purchase in-game items, add-ons, and more if they wish to. 2024 was also a great year for F2P games, with the likes of Fortnite and CS2 all performing exceptionally well (Fortnite released it’s highly anticipated ‘Chapter 6’ and ‘OG Mode’ while Counter-Strike transitioning its core audience from CS:GO to the well-received CS2), so interest levels in F2P games are still as high as ever.
Console Decline
Did you know that consoles are declining in sales and popularity? As crazy as it sounds, it’s true. Console sales are down across the board, with the Xbox Series X/S experiencing the biggest downturn in units sold. There are many reasons why this is happening, including the simple fact that many of today’s gamers are simply aging out of consoles and there’s not enough younger players coming through the other side. At the same time, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S have failed to deliver quality games as part of the ‘9th generation’, leading to millions of gamers making the switch to mobile and PC instead. Simply put, there’s now a lack of confidence in consoles, but there will be a short-term resurgence when GTA 6 releases as expected later this year.
Continued Nostalgia for Retro Games
Nostalgia is one of the biggest driving forces behind gaming today. The market has experienced a big money revival and younger generation players are buying retro games from the past to see what all the hype is about. Even though many of these games, from Halo: Combat Evolved to Final Fantasy VI, are decades old, they still hold up today, blowing many modern releases out of the park in terms of replay value and overall quality. This is why the nostalgia era of gaming is expected to continue for decades to come, especially considering that many of the new games released today aren’t quite up to the standards of the past.
Summary
This guide has now got you up-to-date on the biggest gaming sites you need to check out in 2025. At the same time, you also know some of the most exciting gaming trends to look out for throughout the year, too. One thing for sure is that it’s going to be a great year for gaming — so make sure you don’t miss out.
