The greatest games aren’t always the newest ones, and that’s never more true than for the FPS genre (TF2 is 15 years old!) where player numbers, weapon feel, and level design trump novelty almost every time. Some old, some new, some unbeatable: we think these are the best FPS games in 2022, including top-of-the-charts Rainbow Six Siege and slapstick battler Splitgate.
Still putting in the hours in CS:GO, or looking for a new must-play shooter? These are the best FPS games 2022 has to offer, from high energy single-player experiences to competitive picks for your multiplayer fix.
The Best FPS Games In 2022
1. Apex Legends – best fps games 2022
A battle royale shooter set in the popular Titanfall universe, Apex Legends is one of the hottest competitive FPS games to play in 2022, thanks to its continuing dev support, strong streaming community, and pick-up-and-play design. Hero shooters are definitely on trend right now, but Apex Legends keeps it fresh with unique armour tiers, Respawn’s signature movement mechanics, and a host of Legends who all genuinely feel fun to play. One of those games you find yourself firing up after work for a few matches.
2. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – best fps games 2022
Rainbow Six Siege is one of the greatest shooters of the modern era, thanks to its fierce firefights, tense multiplayer and commitment to updating the meta even years after release. With massive consecutive player numbers across platforms and a busy competitive community, this is multiplayer FPS gaming at its strongest, and there’s no signs of it slowing down any time soon. Knowing the maps is half the battle, and the freeform level chaos is unmatched in other games today. Rainbow Six Siege is definitely ageing like a fine wine.
3. Deathloop – best fps games 2022
Brilliant and bloodthirsty, Deathloop is the story of an assassin who has both too much and not enough time, stuck in an endless 1960s killing loop (peace and love optional). Fans of Dishonoured will recognise Arkane’s style of stealth-shoot-slaughter, updated for Deathloop with a host of guns that feel weighty and fun to fire. Twin pistol shooting has rarely felt slicker than it does with the Strelak Verso, which is hands down the best weapon in the game, and the time loop mechanics make perfecting your takedowns a satisfying challenge no matter your playstyle.
4. Splitgate
Combat goes multidimensional in Splitgate, an arena shooter that does what it does really well. A palate cleanser after more intense FPS games, Splitgate’s traversal mechanic puts Portal’s, well, portals on your gun, opening the gates to the kind of hilarity that comes from landing on an enemy at speed from ten feet above their head. The game absolutely pulls from FPS history with its many customisable rules, including the much-beloved big head mode, which plays out exactly as it sounds. Slapstick, snappy, free-to-play fun for an after party.
5. Escape From Tarkov
Get out alive and alone in Escape From Tarkov, the ultra-tense survival shooter that feels like part battle royale and part vodka shot in the morning. An incredibly fine-tuned FPS with combat modelled on military sims, Escape from Tarkov offers the unique ability to keep the gear you find after the raid is over. If you’re alive, which you probably won’t be. Devastatingly hardcore and with the added stress of NPC scavengers and frequent, deliberate server wipes, this is a game about limping your way to safety, and feeling great when you get there.
Read on for more of the best FPS games 2022 has up its sleeve, from VR head-cruncher Superhot to the undefeatable Counter Strike: Global Offensive.