The convenience of playing a game in your browser without installing anything is second to none. It is perfect for a quick game where rights are restricted by administrators, such as offices or universities, as well as for non-Windows operating systems.
There are now sites that take advantage of blockchain technology for faster multiplayer gaming, sites that allow you to save game progress, and even sites where you can find free downloadable games.
1. GameDatum (Web): Huge collection of free browser and PC games
GameDatum is an aggregator of the best free games available online. It not only features browser-based games, but also includes various PC game titles for Windows operating system, and of course, you will need to download these games to play. But the good news is that you can then play them offline.
Not all browser games on GameDatum are hosted on the website. For several popular games, such as Settlers Online or Travian Legends, it only serves as a link to the host site. But you can still use GameDatum as a place to bookmark all these games by creating a “Playlist” after signing up for an account.
Of course, the best part of GameDatum is the game discovery. With hundreds of games in the catalog, you probably want to use the game filter menu to add or remove genres like MMO, MMORPG, shooter, strategy, MOBA, Battle Royale, card games, anime, racing, sports, social, fighting, indie, open world, sci-fi, simulation, action, and fantasy. Each game includes a brief description, minimum system or browser requirements, and release date.
2. game room Saito (Web): Multiplayer Games in the Browser on Blockchain Tech
Saito is a Layer 1 blockchain project that allows blockchain applications to run directly through a web browser. To demonstrate their capabilities, they launched Saito Arcade, a collection of browser games and emulators for retro games.
All Saito Arcade games are multiplayer, and the site loads a community chat box to see who’s active, invite others to play, and interact with players online. You will see the list of games on the left sidebar and open games highlighted in the middle to join. It starts with an anonymous account and a random name, but you can change that.
The games at Saito Arcade have several great titles that you won’t find elsewhere. For example, there’s Settlers of Saitoa (a Catan clone) and Epidemic (a Pandemic clone). You can even play the classic arena shooter Quake 3 within the browser! And they have a Nintendo 64 emulator that runs through the browser to play classic retro arcade games in single player mode, like Mario Kart 64 and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
3. simmer.io (Web): Play and discover Unity WebGL games from independent developers
Simmer is a site for independent game developers who create games on the Unity platform to share as browser games. The developer can simply export it to WebGL format and then drag and drop it into Simmer for upload. It’s like a “YouTube for games,” as the site boasts.
This ease of use for developers means you get a lot of indie games on Simmer that you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll find the latest Publisher Recommended Games as the first roundup of titles to play – the site is largely run by one person. Scroll down to see other lists, such as the latest uploads, games from Simmer early adopters, and mobile-ready games built with Unity’s Project Tiny.
It’s a shame Simmer doesn’t let you search for titles by genre, as that’s how most people prefer to discover new games. Still, it’s hard to complain, given how smoothly the games run in the browser and the wide variety of new games added daily.
Four. IO Games Space (Web): Massively multiplayer and fast-paced games in the browser
While there is no clear definition of IO games, we like GameNGuide’s explanation: “browser-based, free, multiplayer, casual game with relatively poor graphics.” From Agar.IO onwards, these “in/out” games have been internet favorites when you want a quick gaming session in your browser, especially at work. But it’s always been hard to find them, as they’re all scattered across the web on their own website. IOGames.Space tries to list all these great games in one place.
You can quickly view featured titles (most played on the site in the past week), newest added games, most popular games of all time, classic IO games, and more. You can also sort by genres like shooter, battle royale, free for all, team, zombies, space, tower defense, RPG and more by clicking on the little blue arrow in the top left corner. This ranking was very much lost on a similar site Kevin Games, which we featured while talking about the best free browser game sites for multiplayer games.
Each game on IOGames.Space has a short description and sometimes includes a gameplay video to show what it’s like. Registered users can choose their own nickname.
5. Crazy games (Web): Huge collection of HTML5 games, with save progress
After Adobe finally removed Flash in 2020, online games defaulted to HTML5. Crazy Games has collected one of the largest collections of these games in one place, with an easy to navigate interface and some features like saved games.
Currently, there are more than 5,000 games in its catalog, spread across genres like 2 player, action, puzzle, multiplayer, platformer, escape, tower defense, car/bike, shooter, and more. You can also quickly check out featured games, new additions, and trending titles. Hovering over any game will show you a quick GIF animation of the game, making your decision easier. If you have trouble choosing, click the “random” button to start any game.
If you sign up for a Crazy Games account, you unlock the ability to save game progress, which can be invaluable for some single player games. You can also save your favorite games and see what you played recently. And as you play more, Crazy Games will start to learn your preferences and recommend games for you.
Pro Tip: Use Your System Browser
No matter which site you use to play these games, you’ll need a modern browser. Both Edge and Safari can support them and should be your preferred option. Other third-party browsers like Chrome, Firefox, or Vivaldi will place a higher load on your system memory and slow down the entire computer.