The Epic Games Store will give away 15 free games over Christmas
UPDATE: Mages of Mystralia is free until December 28
The Epic Games Store will give away 15 games later this month, with one title set to be offered free every day from December 16-30.
That’s according to Dealabs user Billbill-Kun, who correctly leaked the PS Plus line-ups for September, October, November and December, plus December’s Xbox Live Games with Gold titles.
They claim the promotion will kick off with a free copy of Shenmue 3 on December 16, when the Epic Games Store will also launch an end of year sale running until January 6, 2022.
UPDATE 27/12/21: Epic is giving away a free title every day until December 30 as part of the Epic Games Store’s ‘15 Days of Free Games’ promotion.
Games given away previously include Shenmue 3, Neon Abyss, Remnant: From the Ashes, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Loop Hero , Second Extinction, Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, Vampyr, Kingmaker – Enhanced Plus Edition, Prey and Control.
Mages of Mystralia is currently free until 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm GMT on December 28.
ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES: The first 14 games being given away will reportedly each be available to claim for just one day, while the 15th free title will be available to claim for one week.
If accurate, the giveaway will follow a similar format to Christmas promotions the Epic Games Store has run over the last couple of years.
The Epic Games Store gave away 15 games over the Christmas 2020 period and 12 free games over Xmas 2019.
Dead by Daylight and While True: learn() are currently free to download from the Epic Games Store until 11am ET / 8am PT / 4pm GMT today.
At that time, they will be replaced by Godfall Challenger Edition and Prison Architect, which will be free to download from December 9-16.
According to a document released as part of the Epic-Apple case this summer, Epic Games spent nearly $12 million securing games for its regular free game giveaways during a nine-month period between December 2018 and September 2019.
The information showed that Epic gave away 38 games during that nine-month period, each of which involved paying their developers a different ‘buyout price’.
Games like Super Meat Boy, World of Goo and RIME cost Epic $50,000 or less, while three games cost more than a million dollars to secure – Subnautica ($1.4 million), Mutant Year Zero ($1 million) and the Batman Arkham Collection ($1.5 million).
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The Epic Games Store is giving users unlimited $10/£10 vouchers for three weeks
In an analysis published on VGC in February, Ampere Analysis’ Louise Shorthouse questioned whether Epic’s game giveaways were sustainable in the long term.
“The number of free games increased by 41% [in 2020] – reflecting the increase in customers – but their value grew by over 65%,” she wrote.
“Essentially, Epic is giving away more expensive games, probably in an attempt to sustain momentum and continue to draw in a broader audience, and it seems to be working. The number of free games claimed in 2020 increased almost threefold year-on-year, from 200 million to 749 million.
“But even for Epic Games, a company still basking in the glow of Fortnite’s vast profits, there will be a limit to how much it is willing and able to spend on free content. “
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