Free games like DayZ
Below are 13 free-to-play Steam games similar to DayZ, ranked by player overlap and content similarity. No purchase or Steam login required to view the list. Every pick is a full free-to-play title — not a demo, trial, or time-limited giveaway. imho.run's catalogue refreshes daily, so newly free or newly popular titles surface here without manual editing.
Want the full alternatives list (paid + free + Steam Deck + cheaper picks)? See the parent games like DayZ page.
Ranked picks
- 1

Ultimate Custom Night
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action with DayZ.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
- 2

Bongo Cat
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Massively Multiplayer with DayZ.
Bongo cat needs your help. Bongo cat needz more hatz!!! Every time you press a key, Bongo cat will punch your taskbar. Type, click, play, work to collect more points. Which hats will you find?
- 3

Indigo Park: Chapter 1
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Adventure with DayZ.
Explore the abandoned childhood wonder of Indigo Park! Guided by Rambley the Raccoon, help restore power to the destroyed amusement park while you run from the reason it shut down.
- 4

STRAFTAT
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action with DayZ.
STRAFTAT is a 1v1/2v2 ONLINE first person SHOOTER with quick rounds in over 350 MAPS ; Including all WEAPONS, proximity chat and 4 players FFA.
- 5

The Looker
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window.
You wake up, alone, on a strangely familiar island full of puzzles that will frustrate and annoy you.
- 6

Counter-Strike:Global Offensive
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action with DayZ.
Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) expands upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched over 2 decades ago. CS:GO features new maps, characters, weapons, and game modes, and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust2, etc.).
- 7

The Expendabros
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Adventure with DayZ.
The Expendabros have assembled and set their sights on the forces of ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks in the forests of Eastern Europe.
- 8

Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Adventure with DayZ.
Face unspeakable horrors. Succumb to madness. Welcome to a free daemonic narrative experience inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.
- 9

Infestation: The New Z
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Massively Multiplayer with DayZ.
The New Z is a FREE TO PLAY multi-game mode experience. SURVIVE with friends and gather loot, stash and trade. Go into wars against other groups in a massive OPEN WORLD or face them 5 v 5 in COMPETITIVE.
- 10

Survarium
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Massively Multiplayer with DayZ.
Survarium is a post-apocalyptic online FPS game. If you are looking for a shooter where skills matter, look no further! The opposing players and deadly anomalies will never stop you on the way to victory, right? Then start playing now for free!
- 11

Fallen Earth Classic
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Massively Multiplayer with DayZ.
Fallen Earth Classic is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Reloaded Productions and operated by Little Orbit. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland located around the American Grand Canyon.
- 12

Infestation: The New Beginning
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Massively Multiplayer with DayZ.
Infestation is a Survival Horror MMO that immerses players in a zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic world in which a viral outbreak has decimated the human population leaving in its wake, a nightmare of epic proportion.
- 13

XERA: Survival
Free-to-play alternative to DayZ — no purchase or trial window. Shares Action and Adventure with DayZ.
Action-focused, open world survival shooter, PvPvE against fellow mercenaries and lethal XOIDS. Raid for resources alone or with team-mates, build and defend your base, stash your gear and survive against the odds. You are the hunters. You are the hunted. And the robots never sleep…