The Epic Games Store gives away one or more PC games every week. The free games change on Thursdays at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, and any game you claim during its free window is yours to keep, even after the promotion ends. You need a free Epic account and nothing else: no subscription, no payment card.
Our free games tracker shows what’s free right now and what’s coming next, read directly from Epic’s store data every day.
When the free games change
| Time zone | New free games appear |
|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | Thursday, 11:00 a.m. |
| Central (CT) | Thursday, 10:00 a.m. |
| Mountain (MT) | Thursday, 9:00 a.m. |
| Pacific (PT) | Thursday, 8:00 a.m. |
Each free game usually stays free for one week, until the next Thursday rotation. Epic also shows next week’s games in advance on its free games page, so you can see what’s coming.
How to claim a free game
- Sign in to your Epic Games account on the website or in the Epic Games Launcher.
- Open the free game’s store page and select Get.
- Confirm the order. The price shows $0, and no payment method is needed.
- The game now appears in your library. You can download it now or years later.
Claiming is the step that counts. You don’t need to download or play the game during the free week. If you only see it and don’t claim it, it won’t be in your library when the week ends.
Do you really keep them forever?
Yes. Once you’ve claimed a free game, it’s tied to your account like any purchased game. It stays in your library after the promotion ends. The only realistic ways to lose it are losing access to your account or a game being withdrawn from sale entirely, which applies to bought games too.
The catches
- PC first. Free games are for Windows PC through the Epic store. Some games also run on Mac. Epic runs separate mobile giveaways in some regions, but the weekly PC games are the main event.
- Add-ons need the base game. Sometimes the free item is DLC or an in-game bundle. It only works if you own the game it belongs to.
- Mystery games. Around big sales and the holidays, Epic has in past years hidden upcoming free games behind “mystery” tiles, revealing one at a time. They’re still free; you just don’t know what’s next until it unlocks.
- Your account security matters. Because your library holds real games, turn on two-factor authentication for your Epic account.
Why does Epic give games away?
It brings people to the store. Every free game puts the Epic launcher on more computers and gets more people signed in, which helps Epic sell other games. Publishers are paid by Epic for the promotion, so the developer isn’t simply losing out.
Checking what’s free this week
Epic’s own page is the authority on what’s free and until when. Our free games tracker reads the same data, filters out ordinary sales and lists only 100%-off games, with their end dates in Eastern Time. It rebuilds daily and again shortly after each Thursday rotation.