The most legitimate way to is through the EA App (formerly Origin). EA often offers promotional periods or "Play First Trials."

If you are strictly looking for a $0 city-building experience, consider these legal options:

Before diving into the download process, it is important to clarify exactly what "SimCity 5" is. While the developers at Maxis simply titled it SimCity , the community quickly adopted the moniker SimCity 5 to differentiate it from the classic 1989 original.

It is impossible to discuss this game without mentioning its launch. In 2013, the game required an "always-online" internet connection, which caused massive server failures at launch. Additionally, the city sizes were strictly limited to small squares.