The Epic Games Store has certainly made an impact since it launched to aggressively compete with Steam. As well as snapping up a whole bunch of games as timed exclusives, Epic have been giving away free games each week to entice more and more people to adopt their store. This initiative will continue throughout the rest of 2020.
The minds behind Fortnite clearly know what they’re doing with millions of players picking up freebies each week. From huge AAA titles to brand new games launching for free, such as A Total War Saga: Troy, Epic are throwing a lot of money at their platform. Luckily for you, their crazy spending comes with benefits to you without you having to spend a dime.
Here’s everything you need to know about Epic Games Store and its free games, including when they go live.
When Do Free Epic Games Store Games Go Live?
Free games on the Epic Games Store are available every Thursday from 4PM BST / 10 AM CDT / 8 AM PDT / 11 AM CDT. There may sometimes be a small delay, but this is historically the timeframe when all new games become up for grabs.
If your timezone isn’t listed above, be sure to check out this handy converter.
When new games go live, Epic will also announce what will be up for grabs the following week. Bear in mind that Epic may decide to swap out the previously announced free games, as seen with Conan Exiles.
What Do You Need To Claim Free Games?
To claim your games, all you need is an Epic Games account, the launcher, and 2FA (two-factor authentication) enabled. If you’ve ever played Fortnite, you should already have an Epic Games account, but making a brand new account is very straightforward if not.
Do You Keep The Games Forever?
Yes. As long as you add the game to your library before it leaves the free selection, it is yours. Even when Epic finally ends the free games program, the games will still be available to play. You don’t even need to download the game to have it forever.
Can You Play Epic Games Store Games On Steam?
Yes and no. You won’t get any of the features of Epic or Steam (such as achievements), but you can select “Add Non-Steam Game To Library” and then find the game you need and add it that way. This can get a little complicated and doesn’t work properly for every single game, but if you’re more or less allergic to EGS and don’t want anything to do with it, playing it through Steam is a possibility.
As polarising as Epic and their business practices may be, it’s hard to argue with them giving out free games. With many indie developers likely getting a huge payday from Epic, as well as the fact they take smaller cuts than basically every storefront out there, they are working extremely hard to convince gamers to make the switch.
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