Most popular free-to-play games have a ton of content that you don’t need to pay to enjoy, so they try to find other ways to still make money off the playerbase in the form of cosmetics that look too stunning to pass up. There’s nothing more terrifying in a free-to-play game than the fear of missing out.

Sure, you don’t need to buy these cosmetics, but wouldn’t it look cool as you’re running around the game while stomping on your foes? Why not flex on them with your new duds and show just how dedicated you are to spending real money on this virtual cosmetic?

Cosmetics aren’t going anywhere, and no matter how enticing they may seem, remember that they are completely optional to enjoy these games. Then again, they do look amazing, so what’s the harm in just a bit of your hard-earned money to accessorize?

10 Rocket League

Pimp Your Ride

In a game where you essentially play soccer with rocket-boosted cars, it’s unsurprising that there’s a whole market for cosmetics in Rocket League.With toppers, booster trails, goal explosions, and so much more, this free-to-play game boasts a wide selection of bling to make your car look awesome.

Considering how easy it is to get into the game and how addictive the gameplay loop can be, you’re bound to want to show off your skills while scoring a goal to trigger a colorful explosion while completely kitted out in the shiniest decals and unique effects.

It’s common for many free-to-play games to feature player-to-player trading so that friends can exchange cool cosmetics or make deals with strangers, and Rocket League’s playerbase thrived on that. Unfortunately, in 2023, the trading feature was removed to better align with Epic Games’ item shop business model.

Understandably, this upset a lot of fans who once thrived in the market, and the only way to expand your cosmetic collection nowadays is to buy Credits through the game store or earn them through Rocket Pass rewards.

Still, the best skins tend to come from crossover collabs, including Light McQueen from Cars, Batmobiles, and even real-life brand cars.

9 Counter-Strike 2

Flex Your Painted AK-47

Valve’s multiplayer games are best known for their trading features, and Counter-Strike 2 is no exception. Previously known as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive until 2023, CS2 is famous for its players collecting and trading pearlescent guns and gold-plated karambits for exorbitant amounts of cash.

Weapon skins can come from different avenues, ranging from cases, weekly drops, or earned rewards. However, any seasoned Counter-Strike player will tell you to focus on trading instead.

The factors that go into a CS2 weapon skin’s rarity make trading extremely complex, as its rarity depends on its pattern, hidden values, and even the wear-and-tear of the weapon. The sheer rarity of certain items makes them worth up to thousands of dollars in the marketplace.

Some players have even taken to using CS2 weapon skins as a means to invest, hoping that the cosmetics they currently have will either go up in value someday or ensure that their skins don’t depreciate. Not only that, but there are sites dedicated to managing trade deals between players.

I understand the appeal of trading weapon skins, but the ludicrous amounts of money that go into it are baffling.

8 Fall Guys

It’s A Cosplay Contest!

Amongst the violent battle royale games filled with high-octane shooters, Fall Guys stands to compete with its goofy, lighthearted gameshow-esque tone, where you compete with dozens of other players in Wipeout-styled obstacle courses, causing ridiculous hilarity to ensue.

As you race to win that golden crown, you’ll eventually covet cosmetics that’ll elevate your status as the one bean above the rest.

With constant content updates in the form of seasons, Fall Guys releases new game modes and maps for players to enjoy, as well as outfits for players to purchase through in-game currency, stores, and limited edition events and bundles.

Not only that, but Fall Guys is among free-to-play games that feature collab-based skins, where you can make your silly bean guy cosplay as your favorite character from a wide range of IPs, from video games like Ghost of Tsushima, Astro Bot, and Destiny 2, to show and movie mascots like Invincible, Ultraman, and Doctor Who.

7 Apex Legends

Dress Up Your Legend

Without a doubt, Apex Legends is one of the sweatiest battle royale games I’ve ever played.

This fast-paced shooter takes the half-dead Titanfall franchise and gives it a little bit more life in the form of an ever-growing world and roster of Legends.

Apex Legends has 26 Legends and counting, along with 29 more weapons, each with a multitude of unique cosmetics, including skins, effects, and even voice lines to taunt your foes with.

Most exclusive skins are locked behind in-game purchases, along with time-limited events and battle passes, but some skins can become permanent additions and can be crafted as you collect crafting metals from lootboxes that you earn as you play the game.

6 Team Fortress 2

Trading Strange Hats

Much like Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 has a functioning economy through trading and collecting cosmetics. Most TF2 players trade items using currencies like Refined Metal, Mann Co. Supply Crate Keys, and earbuds, which tend to be the cheapest items you can purchase for real money.

TF2’s economy doesn’t just revolve around cosmetics but also unique items whose exclusivity comes from when, where, and how players acquired them.

From Unusual hats that emit particle effects, Strange weapons that have kill counters, to Vintage weapons that dropped before the Mann-Conomy update in 2010, these items are extremely rare and are highly coveted in the community.

But all of this might be alien to many new and returning TF2 players. I remember trading my hats on the Steam marketplace when I was in middle school, where 14-year-old me would haggle and needlessly argue that my Unusual hat was worth more than the buyer was offering.

It has been almost a decade since I last played or traded on TF2, so imagine my surprise and shock to find out that most of the trading nowadays is being done through shoddy websites populated by bots who will try to lowball you with crappy deals.

5 Marvel Rivals

Oh No, They’re All Hot!

By virtue of being a third-person shooter, Marvel Rivals already has an advantage in selling its cosmetics as opposed to other hero shooters, as you’ll see your character all the time instead of just your arms or weapons.

Thanks to the fact that Marvel characters have had a myriad of costume changes and variations throughout the decades of runtime, it’s natural to assume that Marvel Rivals would have an untapped market in cosmetics for each of its characters.

You can theoretically earn every skin in the game by earning in-game currency through challenges and achievements while participating in limited events. But if you want to hurry and snag that awesome Deadpool x Wolverine version of Logan’s outfit, then you can buy Lattices with real money and convert them to Chrono-Tokens and Units.

Thankfully, NetEase uses their monetization wisely, as they not only release skins original to the game but accurately depict (or even improve upon) costumes you’ve seen in MCU movies, other video games, and even relatively obscure comic book references that would have you surprised.

4 Destiny 2

Slay (Your Enemies)

While Destiny 2 has extensive endgame content in the form of raids, dungeons, grandmaster nightfalls, and competitive PvP, many Guardians, including myself, consider fashion to be the end goal of the game, as it is the truest expression of a Guardian’s creativity.

Despite the initial resistance and lingering resentment towards Bungie’s decision to make microtransactions in Eververse a permanent addition in 2015, I’ll admit that it’s brought some really cool cosmetics that enhance the power fantasy of strutting your stuff while slaying minions of Darkness.

Not only that, but there have been some well-received skins and other cosmetics that are directly drawn from other IPs. Most recently, a collaboration with Star Wars released three skins and emotes with lightsaber action.

Thanks to Universal Ornaments and Shaders, you can fully customize your Guardian with a wide breadth of creativity, from cosplaying characters like Gundam or Spider-Man to mismatching all your colors and making the most horrendous-looking Guardian in existence.

Not only does Destiny 2’s power fantasy reside in fighting for humanity as a space magic-wielding super-soldier, but we’re also in a fashion show while saving the world. Once you’ve done just about everything in the game, eventually, you’ll care more about your drip than completing weekly featured raids and challenges.

3 Warframe

Fashion Frame As An Art

As a long-time Destiny fan, I am ashamed to admit that there’s one game that has better customization than Destiny, and that’s Warframe.Boasting nearly a hundred unique frames, including the Primes, Warframe lets you customize almost every part of your character.

With a comprehensive slider option and movable pieces for your weapons and armor, it’s unsurprising that Warframe is similar to Destiny where both communities consider fashion the true endgame.

There are many ways to creatively show off your eye for fashion in Warframe. Some on r/WarframeRunway either turn their Warframes into ethereal gods that are stunning to behold, or sleek killing machines with minimalist designs.

Much like most free-to-play games, Warframe has the benefit of making its cosmetics accessible to most players through grinding, as the limited events can come back with discounted deals months after they were featured.

Players can even spend hours grinding to craft Prime versions of Warframes and weapons that don’t just provide gameplay benefits but make them look much cooler in design.

2 League Of Legends

Amazing Skins With Stunning Splash Art

League of Legends is infamous for its highly competitive esports scene, its spinoff show Arcane, and most importantly, its masterfully designed skins with equally beautiful splash art that accompany them.

Most of these skins are interconnected with other champions’, like the famous KDA skins, where Champions Akali, Evelyn, Ahri, and Kai’Sa form the eponymous Kpop group and create amazing music in the real world. Other skins, like the PROJECT skins or Star Guardians, also feature versions of champions in different universes where they adapt to a completely different world.

Of course, these skins aren’t free, and getting them without spending real money is no easy task. You can either grind out resources and earn them through milestones, submit funny art to earn a bit of RP, or play Ranked, which might be a fate worse than death.

Buying RP to purchase League skins is addicting, and playing the game is even more so. Any seasoned League player will caution you against playing this game. Even if you don’t play the game, you can at least enjoy its beautiful art design and its adjacent media.

1 Fortnite

The King Of Collab Cosmetics

If there’s one game that has set a record for the most cosmetics, it’s Fortnite. And it’s not just quantity either, because every skin seems painstakingly crafted to reflect the work or V-bucks needed to acquire them, and some of the gliders are just absolutely badass to look at. I mean, just look at the stairway gliders, radiating with aura.

I’m particularly drawn to the designs of the character skins in Fortnite, as not only are the original designs a masterclass in character design and silhouettes, but the collab and celebrity skins look like they belong in the Fortnite world with how their original designs and outfits are translated into the game.

Take one of the most recent and popular skins to be featured, Hatsune Miku. She fits in Fortnite because it’s pretty much accepted that Miku can exist anywhere, and it would still make sense. How better to win a Victory Royale than with a Miku Beam?

The celebrity cameo skins aren’t too shabby, either, as American singer Mariah Carey has somehow made it into the Winterfest 2024 event as an acknowledgment of her deification as the ubiquitous patron saint of Christmas.

Fortnite is constantly expanding its catalog of IP crossovers and celebrity cameos and isn’t showing signs of slowing down any time soon. After all, having your face or a character you created show up in a battle royale game seems to be a pretty good way of measuring your level of success.