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Not many video game genres have managed to remain as relevant and as strong as FPS games (first-person shooters) even today. They offer the most immersive perspective, after all. The good news is that while the genre is old, FPS experiences are rather flexible and often dip into other genres. With 2024 nearing its end and with the holiday season now official, it’s time to update your to-do list (or is it a to-shoot list?) with the best FPS games of 2024.
Some of these are a mix of actual 2024 titles with some post-2020 titles thrown in because some FPS games are too good to omit. Sadly, we decided to omit pre-2020 titles to give newer FPS games a chance.
10. Counter-Strike 2
If you want to be truly competitive, then look no further than Counter-Strike 2 from Valve. It comes with updated graphics but offers the familiar precision-based gameplay of its predecessors, which has earned it a spot in e-sports leagues.
Counter-Strike 2 is even simpler than most of the recent FPS games as it’s usually just two symmetrical teams; mostly one trying to bomb a location and the other trying to defend it. But don’t be fooled by its low bar to entry; Counter-Strike 2‘s skill ceiling is one of the highest in the genre. It’s enough to create some of the fiercest e-sports athletes.
9. PowerWash Simulator
But we’re getting a little too sweaty here. Not all FPS games are about high-IQ plays and KDA. Some can be good, old-fashioned cleaning therapy as was proven by PowerWash Simulator. This FPS came out as a surprise hit due to its sudden popularity. Turns out there’s something mesmerizing and calming about pressure-washing the grime and dirt off household surfaces. Who knew, huh?
That has made PowerWash Simulator a recommended sanctuary for any gamer weary of all the murder and figurative curb-stomping. PowerWash Simulator even shakes it up by letting you clean ancient ruins and subways, just when you thought it couldn’t get any more novel.
8. Deep Rock Galactic
As far as Left 4 Dead-style games go, Deep Rock Galactic arguably takes the crown with how fun, chaotic, and thematic it can be. You and three other buddies or randos team up as space dwarves working for a mining corporation. The job would’ve been manageable were it not for the hostile alien wildlife in the way.
So, being model employees of the corporate Dwarven dystopia, it’s up to you to make the company rich regardless of how many HR complaints you have. Don’t worry, you get to have a nice set of guns and distinct Dwarven characters with their unique abilities. Get out alive and who knows, you might just get promoted.
7. Halo Infinite
Given how competitive the multiplayer FPS scene is in the 2020s, Halo Infinite had to go above and beyond with just about everything it could muster. There’s a myriad of ways it could’ve failed. Still, the game persisted and is now the best competitive sci-fi FPS game of the decade. It’s still going strong in 2024.
Halo Infinite even pulled a good move by making the multiplayer free. Those craving for some Master Chief lore dumps can choose the open-world campaign. For many, Halo Infinite serves as the right way to give old-school action a new coat of paint, making it relevant among the best FPS games of 2024.
6. Ready or Not
Ready or Not is the tactical SWAT shooter you never knew you needed, especially with the absence of the old SWAT FPS franchise. The game puts you in the boots of a SWAT member where you have to coordinate with teammates to defuse a hostage situation or something too delicate for military grunts to handle.
Thus, this game brings back the tense split-second deferral of thinking before you shoot since you never know when you’re actually shooting civilians or bad guys. It’s one of those FPS games that might even surprise you — literally since it can have more jump-scares than your usual horror game.
5. The Finals
The typical multiplayer FPS often doesn’t consider environmental damage (save for games like Battlefield). That’s where The Finals sets itself apart. It’s a virtual arena shooter that allows you to alter environments whether through brute force or other physical manipulations.
This minimizes the existence of FPS campers if you’re sick of them. That should give you a better chance to fight back against more entrenched players. Beyond that, The Finals is simply oozing with modern style and smooth, flashy action you’ll come to appreciate.
4. Dark and Darker
In this case, the ‘s’ in FPS stands for slasher because Dark and Darker is a dark fantasy dungeon-crawler FPS. It also has heavy RPG elements, letting you tailor your builds depending on your class.
There’s also an element of hostility here since it’s a PvPvE extraction looter where you can betray your teammates in certain modes. So be warned: Dark and Darker is a difficult and oppressive game. But if you love FPS drama, this game lets you dish out plenty.
3. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Activision hopes you’re not tired of Call of Duty yet, because this year, it has released the most promising Call of Duty ever: Black Ops 6. Yes, there are six of them already. However, Black Ops 6 does almost everything well from the campaign, the signature COD multiplayer, and even Zombies mode.
Most of what Black Ops 6 offers is an improvement over the past titles. And since it’s technically free on Xbox Game Pass, some of you can try it out without worry. You’ll have no shortage of fun things to do. It’s also easy to switch modes if you get tired of one of its facades.
2. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl (Honorable Mention)
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is due this month, and it’s shaped up to be one of the most iconic video games this decade. With its strong showing, it might even be a nominee for Game of the Year, especially considering its political relevance.
Heart of Chornobyl is the long-awaited follow-up to the Eurojank STALKER games of the late 2000s which take place in a fictional irradiated Chornobyl setting called the Zone. Thanks to the nuclear disaster, The Zone has become home to inexplicable anomalies and opportunities for scavengers to become rich. That’s where you come in.
1. Delta Force (Honorable Mention)
Like Halo, Delta Force is not backing down from the new blood. It’s back in a new and shinier coat of paint. The game will be released on December 5, 2024, to reclaim its title as a genre-definer. Delta Force promises large-scale PvP warfare similar to Battlefield and a modern and beautiful extraction shooter experience.
It will also feature a Black Hawk Down campaign if you want to replay that Ridley Scott movie. This tactical shooter is poised to shake up the formula and quite possibly bring Escape from Tarkov‘s appeal to a mainstream light while also competing with Battlefield, all for free. That’s quite a bold move as far as 2024 FPS games go.
