Why Free Games Still Matter To Epic, Hundreds Of Giveaways Later

For the last couple of years, PC users have been able to grab free games every week from the Epic Games Store. Epic's Free Games program offers a wide variety of titles to choose from, with the storefront mixing AAA hits with under-the-radar indies. This has helped grow the Epic Games Store over time, as well as shine a spotlight on games that people might have overlooked in an increasingly crowded market.

"In the early days of the Epic Games Store, the intent of the Free Games program was to keep giving players compelling reasons to come back every week as we built an audience and the catalog," Kyle Billings, director of strategy and business operations at the Epic Games Store, said to GameSpot. "We started monthly while we built up the programming and moved to weekly as soon as we could. In January 2025, we ran a very similar playbook with the mobile store when we launched."

"We know the Free Games program helps players discover new games or games that they never had a chance to play previously, and it continues to bring us around 8-9 million new users every year. This also helps developers continue to grow exposure for their games. In the end, we see the benefits to both players and the industry."