Some people buy games under license, others download them from pirated sites, while others are content with free games and freebies. But they all have one thing in common – the availability of programs for installing games. How to download games on laptop and PC
The article has collected the 10 most popular and well-known programs for purchasing and installing games, in which you can find your favorite titles.
How to download games on laptop and PC
Steam
The most famous gaming service is, of course, Steam. This is not only a program for downloading games, but also a store, launcher and even a forum. Here players can not only purchase a new title for their collection, but also leave feedback and discuss projects with other users.
Valve launched Steam in 2003, and since then it has been constantly growing and evolving. Now the service is not limited to just games, you can also download programs to your PC (for example, Wallpaper Engine – a program for installing wallpaper on your desktop) and various add-ons for games, both official and custom from the Steam Workshop.
The platform constantly pleases users with sales and demo versions of games, so even the most experienced gamer can find something to their liking.
Epic Games
And this service appeared relatively recently – in 2018. But even despite this, Epic Games became popular in the shortest possible time, largely due to Fortnite. EGS differs from Steam in its simplicity: there is no large selection of search filters, custom tags, reviews, or a shopping cart. But here you can find projects that are not presented on other sites or are blocked in some countries.
The service has also become popular among gamers thanks to its freebies – every week the Epic Games Store gives players free copies of various games that they can forever add to their collection. In such distributions you can get both interesting indie projects and large titles like GTA V.
BlueStacks
Unlike the previous two services, BlueStacks is designed exclusively for downloading mobile games to PC. Essentially, this is a game store, launcher and simulator in one package. With its help, you can play popular mobile games, even if your phone does not support them.
The application has many advantages:
- you can play on a keyboard or gamepad;
- it is possible to run several games in different windows;
- there is a built-in auto-translator that will translate the game text in real time;
- you can customize the graphics to suit your PC to achieve better performance;
- You can record a video of the game progress.
EA App
EA App, which was originally known as Origin, belongs to the well-known company Electronic Arts. Of course, all games from them are primarily distributed through this service. Initially, the market was created as a competitor to Steam, but later acquired its own features.
For example, in the store you can find old Electronic Arts projects that are no longer available in other services. In addition, the EA App has a proprietary subscription – EA Play, which gives unlimited access to the game library, opens up the opportunity to “try” the company’s games before the official release and gives a 10% discount on in-store or game purchases.
GOG Galaxy
Good Old Games, or GOG for short, is another program that allows you to download games on your PC. The GOG Galaxy service focuses mainly on distributing old games that you won’t find on other services. For example, you can even find projects for Amiga computers that came out in the 80s of the last century.
There are also new games in GOG Galaxy, even if there are not many of them. For example, you can find Cyberpunk 2077 and other games from CD Projekt RED, Baldur’s Gate 3 and much more there. In version GOG Galaxy 2.0, it became possible to link your account with other platforms and collect all games into one library. Users can already participate in the beta test of the updated platform.
Microsoft Store
This service is familiar to almost all Windows PC owners. Essentially, this is a game store built into the OS, which also contains free service applications. He is known for the Forza Horizon series, Minecraft, Gears of War and other projects. In total, there are more than 5,000 different games on the platform, but most of them are free casual games with which you can kill time.
The main advantage of the service is the Xbox Game Pass subscription. By paying for it, the user gets access to a library of games that can be installed for free and played as much as you like. The range of subscriptions is updated every month and you don’t need to have an Xbox to use it—a PC is enough.
Ubisoft Connect
Ubisoft Connect (formerly known as Uplay) is another branded game store on our list. As you might guess, it belongs to Ubisoft and distributes their games, for example, the Assassin’s Creed series, Watch Dogs, and others, as well as additions to them.
A special feature of the store is the ability to link your accounts with other services in order to communicate with players on other platforms. Ubisoft Connect also has a Uplay Points system. You can earn points by playing games and then spend them on in-game rewards or discounts in the store.
Battle.net
Battle.net is another store that is owned by a game development company. This time, Activision Blizzard is in charge. Through Battle.net you can download World Of Warcraft, Over watch, Diablo and other games and series of the company. Blizzard has a fairly strict policy, so many games are only available on their platform.
There are practically no free games here, but you can still find something. Well, the range of games is quite small, so mainly only fans of these games use Battle.net. In addition, games through this client are strictly censored and calling your teammate’s mother a beautiful woman will not work here.
Rockstar Games Launcher
The most modest platform for downloading games is Rockstar Games Launcher, the Rockstar Games brand store. The games here can be counted on one hand: GTA, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire, Bully, Max Payne and, perhaps, that’s all. The application’s interface is quite minimalistic and you definitely won’t have any problems with it.
First of all, this is not even a store as such, but a launcher for Rockstar Games with a lot of settings, cloud saves, automatic updates and other goodies. So, if you plan to play GTA until you’re blue in the face, download this program.
Also Read: How to find your phone by IMEI yourself
uTorrent
Where would such a selection be without well-known torrent trackers, because in essence, these are just the most basic programs for downloading games on a PC. Only illegal ones. On the Internet you can find many different trackers and sites that distribute torrents with various content. The most popular among trackers remains uTorrent.
We won’t talk about it in detail, because its essence is simple: you download a special file and through it download the game you need. Download games on laptop and PC Just remember that in this way you are depriving developers of monetary reward for their work and can put your PC at risk due to the fact that not all pirated files pass verification.
We reviewed the most popular programs for downloading games on PC. Write what else you would add to the list, and don’t forget to read our other articles!
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