Free to play top 10: When does The Sims 4 become free and how do I claim it?

When does The Sims 4 become free and how do I claim it?

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The Sims 4 goes free to play tomorrow, which means you can play the base game for absolutely nothing — here’s how you can claim it. 

As announced last month, The Sims 4 is going free to play tomorrow on October 18, 2022. This means that players can download The Sims 4 base game for free and just purchase the expansions and kits they want to add to the base game like usual. 

This new way to play will be available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. To get started, all you need to do is download The Sims 4 (from October 18) for free via the new EA app, Origin, or Steam. The same goes for the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store. 

If you’ve already been playing The Sims 4 for quite some time now, there is a small bonus for you — but you need to act fast to claim it as the offer ends once the game goes free to play tomorrow on October 18. To claim the Desert Luxe Kit, you must select the free add-on via The Sims 4 main menu.

There’s also a bonus for those who have been playing The Sims 4 via EA Play or EA Play Pro. From October 18, EA Play subscribers will be able to claim the ‘The Sims 4 EA Play Edition’ which will include The Sims 4 Get to Work expansion, and EA Play Pro subscribers will be able to pick up the ‘EA Play Pro Edition’ which includes both the Get to Work expansion and The Sims 4 Toddler Stuff pack. 

This is just one of the exciting things Sims fans can look forward to experiencing tomorrow. On the same day that the base game goes free to play, October 18, EA is also holding the Behind The Sims Summit at 10 am PDT / 1PM EDT / 6PM BST. The event will be live-streamed tomorrow via YouTube and Twitch and will showcase what’s in the works for The Sims series. 

Need to take a break from your virtual life? Take a look at our games like The Sims list for ideas on what to play next.  

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After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I’m also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

Call of Duty Warzone guide and everything you need to win

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This Warzone guide has everything you need to get a head start in Verdansk. From basic tips, the weapons you need, perks, loadouts, updates and just about everything else — we’ve got it here. There is a lot to understand in this battle royale and if you want help getting to grips with any of it we can help you here. Coming up we’ve got a Warzone guide full of tips and info to help you makes sense of it all, make good choices and, maybe, get a win or two along the way.  

Warzone updates

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Keeping up with the Warzone Patch notes is a good way of making sure you have the latest info. Especially while Raven are making broad and sweeping changes to the guns and massively rebalancing the game. From nerfs and buffs, to new features or retired options, this is where you find out what’s just happened in Warzone. 

Call of Duty Warzone tips

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Consider these Call of Duty Warzone tips your most basic starting point. There’s a broad overview here that covers those first shooty baby steps. It’s especially useful if you’ve yet to visit the gulag, or never even seen a Buy Station. Begin here before you do anything else. 

Call of Duty Warzone best guns

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If you’ve got your sights set on winning a match, you’re going to want to use the Call of Duty Warzone best guns . Within this guide we’ve got the best guns to use in Warzone, along with links out to guides like the best M4A1 loadouts, best MP5 builds, and more.

Best Warzone SMGs

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If you like fighting up close then our Warzone best SMGs recommendations might be for you. From room clearing to rushing your opponents, these options will keep you fast and lethal at close range. And, with some clever loadouts and attachments, maybe give you a bit of distance too. 

The best Warzone snipers 

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The Warzone best sniper options will give you the safety of range if you think you can pull off the shop. From no glint sniper rifles to fast firing marksman options, we’ve some options here that will let you take out your enemies from miles away. They’ll never see you coming. 

Warzone best loadouts

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While you drop in unarmed and have to scavenge initially you can buy in your gear if you survive long enough, at which point the Warzone best loadouts is something you’ll want to look into to increase your chances. Here, we look at what that means and how best to take advantage of what’s there. 

Warzone M4 builds

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One of the first guns you get is actually one of the best and most useful in the game, and an option many stick with. So it’s worth checking out the best Warzone M4 builds before you spend hours grinding for more exotic weapons. There’s a range of options here that can suit almost any situation and it’s certainly something to consider in your loadout. 

Warzone best MAC-10 loadouts

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The recently added MAC-10 SMG is one of the best submachines in the game, despite not quite looking up to scratch. As a result, we’ve got some of the Warzone best MAC-10 loadouts for you here, so you can decemate your enemies up close.

How to download Call of Duty Warzone

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Not sure how to sort out the Call of Duty Warzone download? Let us help. We’ve got the details on how to download the game on consoles and PC, so you can jump into Verdansk as soon as possible. 

How to get the free Call of Duty Warzone Combat Pack

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If you’re playing Warzone on PS4 or PS5 and have a PS Plus subscription then you’ll want to grab the free Call of Duty Warzone Combat Pack. It’s a bundle of cosmetic items including operators, skins, a weapon blueprint, some XP boosts, watch and more.  As we said, it’s free so if you’re playing there’s almost no reason to not grab it. 

Is Call of Duty Warzone down?

Obviously if you’re asking the question ‘is Call of Duty Warzone down?’ it probably is. However, why is it down? What’s going on? And when will it be back? If we know we’ll tell you about it here.  

Call of Duty Warzone Error codes explained 

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There have been a fair few Call of Duty Warzone Error codes in recent months after some server troubles, and no doubt there’ll be more in future. If it does go down, check here for all the error codes in case there’s an easy fix to try. 

How to set up Call of Duty Warzone crossplay

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If you’re looking to play with friends on other platforms then you’ll need to set up Call of Duty Warzone crossplay . The good news is that it’s super easy and this guide will explain the few simple steps you need to follow to have the right kind of cross platform war. 

What are Call of Duty Warzone contracts?

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Another new trick in the battle royale are Call of Duty Warzone contracts . These are basically in game challenges you can take on for more loot, cash or a chance to see the next circle. Here we’ve got a full explainer of what’s involved and what you have to do.  

Call of Duty Warzone Easter eggs

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Did you know there are a fair few Call of Duty Warzone Easter eggs throughout the map? That’s right, though none of them are too obvious, we’ve got the details on all of the Easter eggs we’ve found in Warzone.

Warzone companion app

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The Warzone companion app from Overwolf is a must-have for any PC players. While it’s unfortunately not an option for those on console, anyone on PC can see how they stack up against the other players in their lobby when it comes to stats like kill-death ratio, score, wins, and plenty more. We’ve got the details on how it works and how to download it.

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I’m GamesRadar’s Senior Guides Co-ordinator, which means I run GamesRadar’s guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

Top 10 free games on PC

Games become more expensive every year, and collections become obsolete. If you don’t feel like spending a lot of money to replenish them, you can look for a new favorite in the list of free PC games. I have compiled the top 10 best representatives of the industry in completely different genres — here everyone will find something to their liking. By the way, the “PC boyars” were more fortunate than others: on the PlayStation, Xbox and Switch, the range of free-to-play games is much less bright.

Top 10 is an incredibly small sample, which definitely does not fit all the games that deserve it for various reasons — “for long service”, “for a good story”, “for a responsive community”, “for preserving traditions”. If I were handing out medals, and not trying, based on my own gaming and journalistic experience, to determine the top that many gamers would like, then each free title would receive a unique title. However, this time the selection was tough, and not everyone had enough space on the podium.

To make the task easier, such games as Dota 2 and League of Legends, as well as CS:GO and Valorant were not included in the top. Everyone knows that there are only «two genders» — from the armies of Riot Games and Valve.

10th place. CrossFire

Genre : tactical MMO shooter.

Global Risk or Black List? Many interesting games are built on the confrontation between two factions. You have to choose who is closer to you — retired fighters or freelance mercenaries. Each has its own heroes.

CrossFire offers a wide variety of modes, from classic enemy-killing to unique zombie attacks with the final boss kill and modes subtitled «Mutation», in which fighters get superpowers.

In CrossFire you can play as representatives of various special services. The game has elite squads from the USA, Russia, Germany, Great Britain and other countries. You can even choose fighters from the «Themis» or «Harpy» units — they include only women. By the way, most of the costumes correspond to the original uniform of the special services, but you still have to pay for unique skins.

9th place. StarCraft II

Genre : RTS.

Even though playing the free version of StarCraft II is a special kind of gaming perversion, it is still impossible not to mention the founder of eSports. In 2017, Blizzard made Wings of Liberty’s multiplayer and story campaign free.

I don’t recommend buying the Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void campaigns right away. Firstly, fans of online battles will have enough multiplayer, which is quite self-sufficient. Second, Wings of Liberty is still the best SC2 has to offer in my opinion.

Even though Blizzard announced the end of support for SC2 in 2020, it won’t be affected in any way in the near future, at least unless you’re looking for a free-to-play game to start your esports career. Starcraft no longer needs to be improved — the main thing is that the servers work stably.

8th place. Star Wars: The Old Republic

Genre : MMORPG.

Although SWTOR is considered a multiplayer game, you won’t get bored if you don’t have a group of friends. The game has a great story campaign, which you can play with fellow NPCs. They deal extra damage during missions, heal you in dungeons, and even entertain you. And fans of virtual romance can make NPC a marriage proposal. I already talked about this game in the MMORPG review, so I don’t want to repeat myself.

7th place. Apex Legends

Genre : Battle Royale.

Apex Legends from Respawn Entertainment has absorbed the best qualities of «royal battles». The authors already had both PUBG and Fortnite in front of their eyes, so it only remained to successfully compile the «chips», avoiding the obvious mistakes of their predecessors. It turned out well: there was an attractive plot, revival beacons for comebacks, an ability system and locations filled with pleasant little things. Finding something new on the map after a year of playing is a frequent occurrence.

Another cheat — here I will put Fortnite, which can also be downloaded for free. While the two games bear little visual resemblance, it’s hard to argue that Battle Royale has a lot in common. But for me personally, Apex Legends is better, because you don’t have to … build in it.

6th place. Fallout Shelter

Genre : simulation.

Fallout Shelter from Bethesda will help you feel like a god, a businessman and a mother hen at the same time. In this game, the user takes on the role of the caretaker of the shelter and tries to make sure that its inhabitants are not bitten by death claws and rad cockroaches. In parallel, you will have to rebuild the shelter itself and invite new inhabitants to it, and the more people, the more living quarters, food and water are needed. In addition, it is you who will have to conduct electricity and entertain your minions. And even arrange romantic dates for them!

Even if you already played Fallout Shelter at release, a few years later the simulator will open up to you in a new way. Now it has a lot of quests in the Wasteland, new «happenings» inside the shelter and a bunch of interactives. By the way, in 2021, Bethesda plans to release Fallout Shelter Online — with guilds, joint passage of complex quests and other delights of multiplayer games.

5th place. Hearthstone

Genre : CCG.

Blizzard’s Hearthstone is not the first game in its genre, as MTG fans are constantly reminded of. But this is the main promoter of the KKI network format. Until now, HS can be played without investment, and the more you play, the more content you can unlock for game currency. A beginner will not be able to buy all the adventures on the first day, but this is not required: PvE modes are far from the most interesting part of the CCG.

Many people think that there is nothing to do in HS without a good collection. This is a delusion, since you can build one strong deck in a couple of weeks, and save up for a ticket to the Arena in one hour of play if you complete quests daily. In addition, there are brawls where deck building is often not required, seasonal chests with a large number of rewards, and themed holidays, after which you can open a dozen free packs with new cards.

4th place. War Thunder

Genre : tank MMO, simulation.

I foresee the indignant cries of «tankers»: «Where are World of Tanks/Warships/Warplanes and other cult (and free) games about military equipment?». I have tried all of the titles listed and have not noticed a significant difference between them. To understand where the projectile physics is better, less random and better community, you need to spend several months in each game and … still not come to a logical conclusion.

War Thunder is a good tank game where you can always transfer to a plane or a ship. Or is it better to say «a good game about aircraft with high-quality ground equipment»? I always liked flying in War Thunder more. If you cannot decide which type of military equipment is closer to you, then it is much more profitable to try out this particular three-in-one simulator.

3rd place. Team Fortress 2

Genre : team shooter.

Team Fortress 2 is a free to play classic. The title switched to a free-to-play model in 2011 and has long been one of the most popular titles in the world. By 2020, online Team Fortress 2 is no longer amazing, but online games are still being searched quickly. By the way, Valve even releases balance patches for it.

The Team Fortress 2 in-game store sells cosmetic items. Due to the fact that this game is one of Valve’s flagships so far, it is not necessary to buy skins for real money. By dropping rare items during matches, you can sell them on the Steam Market — for example, «Hana Airstrike» in «Minimal Wear» quality is now worth $150,000.

Due to the variety of game modes, Team Fortress 2 itself is almost never boring. Tired of the Special Delivery mode? Let’s race carts in the Payload Race. I know gamers who have been playing TF2 for over ten years and would never trade it for another game. Maybe you will too!

2nd place. Eve Online

Genre : space MMORPG.

There are quite a lot of shareware MMORPGs: Lineage, Aion, Perfect World and others, mostly very old grindilkas about «elves and orcs». Eve Online is also not young — CCP Games released the first version in 2003 — but differs from many with a unique space theme and an active community that continues to set online records. For example, recently the largest Imperium clan attacked the citadel of the Legacy Coalition — and a large-scale war began with the participation of 6.5 thousand fighters.

Until 2016, Eve Online was paid, but now anyone can try the game and fly on base ships. To be honest, you still need a subscription: without it, a lot of features are blocked, and moving around the world takes forever. However, if you try hard, you can save up money for a premium account by playing, just the gameplay will be extremely uninteresting: you will have to carry resources back and forth, which are boring to mine. In addition, the compartments in free ships are very small — you will have to rush back and forth across the expanses of space.

1st place. Path of Exile

Genre : Action/RPG, hack and slash, diabloid.

PoE is one of the few games in the world where you don’t have to pay for anything. It does not have a subscription, experience boosters or drops, seasonal Battle Passes and other FTP elements that developers earn from. In the store, you will only find cosmetic items and inventory expansion tickets.

I started playing Path of Exile in the Talismans league, I started on hardcore. I had a guild and a lamp community created by a streamer, and thanks to the team, for several years I didn’t even think about trading, a very important part of the game. In general, for several months I farmed Dried Lake with my SRSs and put the loot in standard chests. Honestly, it was enough.

Years later, having studied many of the nuances of the game, which by that time had gotten rid of the strange three-level leveling system and the need to “hang” on Dried Lake, I unlocked all available slots for currencies, cards, fossils and other items and bought premium sections. Of course, it is more convenient with them, but these are not the essentials, without which the game is not cute.

By itself, PoE does not get boring even after several seasons — it is constantly updated. Grinding Gear Games made a bet on session play: the user gives all his best in the first two weeks after the start of the league, farms in the usual mode for a couple of months, rests a bit and starts from scratch. For opponents of sessions and changing heroes, there is a megaserver where all the characters from the leagues and the resources they have accumulated go. There you can always try to knock out the “Mirror of Kalandra” with your own hands and kill the most powerful bosses with one blow.

During the formation of the top, I noticed that many free games are similar to each other. Genres favoring the commercial potential of the free-to-play model are densely overgrown with good games. There are many free MMORPGs, tank action games, TCGs and battle royales, but the assortment of strategies and RPGs is extremely scarce. However, there is an endless ocean called «indie». Even a sophisticated user can dive to the very bottom of Steam and discover a masterpiece there — moreover, released both yesterday and at the beginning of the century.

Many gamers don’t like to buy games, even if they have the financial means to do so. With the advent of home PCs in the CIS, a culture of torrents and disks from the market was born. Those times are far behind, and I think that in 2020 it is a shame to pirate. You can hardly justify a person who downloads an unlicensed copy to try out the game. Although in this case, it is better to use the refund function for a small number of hours played, available on all major platforms. It is impossible to find an excuse for those who have been playing GTA V “torrent edition” for years or downloading The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is sold several times a year for modest money in all services known to mankind, it is impossible. Buy good games — this is the only way your favorite developers will be able to «saw good content» again and again.

TOP 10+ FREE ANDROID GAMES

Here’s an ambush! Among the myriad of games, try to find the one that will hook you. It’s oh so difficult! But you can. We’re making it easy to find that title you want by bringing together the best free games on Android.

Brawl Stars

Fight until you beat everyone! It is this leitmotif that can be called the unofficial anthem of this game. Brawl is a mix of fighting game, shooter and MMO (multiplayer game). The backlog of the game is simple:

  1. All players in the «room» (up to 10 people) are sent to the battlefield.
  2. They are divided equally into 2 teams.
  3. Gamers «fight» until one team defeats the other.

Brawl has several game modes:

  • Brawl

Players fight each other for no particular purpose.

  • Crystal collection

The main goal is to collect as many crystals as possible, which serve as an in-game currency.

  • Robbery

The task is to steal all the enemy’s treasures.

  • Awards

Fights take place in tournaments where you have to fight for rewards. The game is drawn in a bright style. There is no blood or other unpleasant details. So it is suitable even for schoolchildren who need to “reset their ardor” after intense classes.

To consolers: 30 best games on Sony Playstation 4 — ranking of popular games on PS4 and beyond (2021)

Call of Duty Mobile

One of the main shooters of our time is now on mobile phones. Android version has all 6 network modes:

1. Shootout
Kill enemies to gain access to weapons.

2. Strongpoint
Shoot until you reach the point limit.

3. Front line
The battle «wall to wall» on the same base. The team that reaches the required points first wins.

4. Team fight
After the player is «killed», he is respawned at a random place on the map. The battle goes on until one of the teams scores the required number of points.

5. Excellence
Conquer and hold control points to earn points.

6. Search and destroy
The team must eliminate the target. We must not allow rivals to destroy it, otherwise a loss.

Graphics quality comparable to CoD: Modern Walfare. So it will look beautiful even on large phones and tablets.

Bang bang: Top 10 shooting games on PS4 and other platforms

EA Sports games

A whole series of free games from one of the world’s leading studios. In addition to the iconic football FIFA, other sports are also present on mobile platforms.

  • UFC

MMA close-quarters simulation puts you in the shoes of Conor McGregor.

  • NBA LIVE

Become a basketball star without leaving your phone.

  • Real Racing

For those who prefer racing to classic sports.

  • Madden NFL

American football fans.

While EA Games’ mobile games are free to download, it’s going to be difficult without additional purchases. If you do not chase the first place in the standings, but just enjoy the game, free content will suffice.

Genshin Impact

New MMORPG (massively multiplayer role-playing game) for a few months of its existence managed to break into the ranking of the best free games on android and other systems. Visually, the anime story is reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda, so fans of Eastern culture are guaranteed to enjoy it.

The action of the game takes place in the magical world of Teyvat, where the religion of the «Seven» rules. In addition to the main game content, the game contains elaborate cut scenes (like in computer games), manga (Japanese comics) and dozens of animated videos on the topic.

In terms of gameplay, Genshin resembles Raid: Shandow Legends, only with more freedom of action. These applications work according to the gacha system — the player collects a squad, upgrades each character there and sends it to the “combat point”.

In Genshin, the user does not need to pay money for character upgrades. He achieves this through his in-game actions. The gamer can fight in battle, trying different control chips of his favorite hero. At the same time, in the Raid, in battle, he acts as an outside observer. And there is something to fight here — each character is under the power of 7 elements:

  1. Fire, Earth and Water.
  2. Wind, Electricity, Frost and Vegetation.

In addition to the combination of elements, enemies can be «wet» with unique abilities, weapons and artifacts. There are hundreds of combinations, and they all capture the eye. The gaming world here is large and plans to expand. So the game has the potential to become one of the best games in 2022 as well. She is just at the start of her already cult career.

Useful Stuff: Best PC Games + Exclusive Top 10 Expected Games of 2021

Word Surf

An unusual word puzzle where the player needs to literally surf the words. At the beginning, the user is given a field littered with letters — then he will need to connect the characters into words, earning game coins.

Words are combined by topic. If the user finds a word that is not related to the topic of the crossword, he fills the «bucket of bonuses». After filling it, he receives additional coins that can be spent on solving difficult problems.

There is a fully localized Ukrainian version.

Hearthstone

One of the most popular card games. And although it does not look like the usual «Fool» or «Poker», as soon as you get into the rules, you fall in love. Each card is a magical creature, spell, or military vehicle.

The player can create their own decks or buy ready-made ones. If you are already playing it on a PC, just log in on your mobile phone. All game progress will be pulled into the phone.

In the mobile version, you can play in the arena against other players online, fight in single player mode with bots (if you are tired of tournaments with people) or invite friends to play cards together.

More freedom: TOP 15 games on Nintendo Switch

Words of Wonders

One of the most popular crosswords. In addition to working with words, you will have to solve puzzles, put together puzzles and explore the seven wonders of the world. You can travel along the way, solving the words that are associated with the country whose level happens to pass. Each level consists of 16 crossword puzzles where you will need to connect the letters given in such a way as to fill in the empty cells.

At first, WOW seems like a simple game for elementary school students — the words are easy and do not exceed 3-5 letters. However, over time, the levels become more difficult and intricate. Comes to words of 7-10 characters!

Honest review: Red Dead Redemption 2 review Or why my rating is 9.5 out of 10

Nintendo games

Biggest developer with over 100 years of success. On mobile platforms, you can download 4 interesting games for Android, as well as find versions of classic titles:

1. Super Mario Run
A game about the ever-running plumber Mario.

2. Mario Kart Tour
Here the most famous plumber was retrained as a racer. The graphics are cute and bright, there is no violence. Parents may not be afraid that their child “sticks to this game” — this way he will only pump fine motor skills.

3. Animal Crossing
Mobile version of one of the most popular games of the last 5 years. You can create your own houses, catering establishments, collect food and decor, customize game characters and even create your own concerts. All this, and a pinch of coolness awaits everyone at Animal Crossing!

4.DR Mario World
Match 3 puzzle. Develops logic and long-term planning.

The review turned out to be quite large. So, in order to simplify the choice of a suitable game, we have collected the mentioned titles in the general table:

These TOP-17 free games for Android will give you dozens of hours of pleasant rest.