Moonlighter is free on Steam for a limited time

Moonlighter, the acclaimed 2018 indie that mixes roguelite dungeon crawling with shopkeeping, is free to claim on Steam through Aug. 9

One of 2018's best indie games is free to claim on Steam for a limited time. Moonlighter, the beloved action RPG that blends roguelite dungeon crawling with shopkeeping, is available at no cost through Aug. 9 as developer Digital Sun prepares to launch Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault next month.

Moonlighter became a standout of the 2018 indie boom thanks to a deceptively simple premise: by day, you're a humble shopkeeper trying to run a successful business. By night, you're the one risking life and limb in monster-filled dungeons to stock your shelves.

Players step into the shoes of Will, an aspiring hero who spends his evenings exploring procedurally generated dungeons, stuffing his backpack with valuable relics before returning to the village of Rynoka to sell his haul. Every item you bring home has to be priced by hand, turning each day into a balancing act of reading customer reactions, maximizing profits, and deciding how much to reinvest into better gear, village upgrades, and your growing shop.

Over time, you'll upgrade your weapons and armor, reach more challenging dungeons and find increasingly rare and powerful loot.

The version available on Steam today is also considerably larger than the one players fell in love with in 2018. Since launch, Digital Sun has added new bosses, companions, more than 100 additional room layouts, new equipment, expanded lore, quality-of-life improvements, and a New Game+ mode that gives veteran merchants another reason to reopen the Moonlighter.

The giveaway arrives just ahead of Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, which launches Sept. 2 after spending nearly a year in Early Access. Polygon's early access review last year praised Moonlighter 2 for expanding on the original's beloved formula with deeper combat, a vibrant 3D world, and more rewarding progression, though we noted there was still room for refinement before launch.