You love video games, but you’re not made of money. Lucky for you, game studios and subscription services offer a handful of free titles every month. Don’t miss out. Here’s what you can download in January.
Everyone loves free games. Steam has a hefty collection of them, but some places offer titles for only a limited amount of time. Epic Games gives away multiple games a week. Amazon’s Prime Gaming subscription service has new titles each month. But if you’re not paying attention, you’ll lose out on a PC game you could have kept forever. In an effort to help gamers know what’s out there to claim, we’re tracking the best free games available in a given month. While some titles are free outright, others are included as part of a subscription service. Here’s everything you can grab this month. Free Epic Games Store Games Epic Games gives away free titles every week; no need for a subscription. Head over to the Epic Games Store website or open the launcher, scroll down to the Free Games section, and hit the Free Now banner on the title you want. Then, go through the process as if you were purchasing the game. You won’t be charged, and the game will appear in your games library on the Epic Games launcher. Daemon X Machina (Until Feb.3) Daemon X Machina is a mech shooter where you are a mech pilot who must battle against a rogue AI that wants humanity dead. You can do battle against other mech appointments and upgrade your own loadout to gain new strengths and abilities. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (Feb.3 – 10) Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a 2D side-scrolling platformer where you must use the combined abilities of Yooka the chameleon and Laylee the bat to complete levels, solve puzzles, and collect powerups to finally complete the titular Impossible Lair. Free GOG Games GOG doesn’t have regular giveaways as some other websites do, but when there is a free game to claim, you can grab it right from the front page. Look for a banner with a free game and countdown, and click the green button to claim the game. In between giveaways, GOG always has a small collection of free games, which mainly comprises classic computer games that have been made available at no cost. The Witcher: Enhanced Edition GOG allows you to score a free copy of the first Witcher game if you download the GOG Galaxy desktop client. Go to the Recent view and click the giveaway button at the top of the screen. As long as you agree to let GOG send you news and offers, the game is free to claim. Free Games Collection You can grab any of GOG’s free games by adding them to your cart and proceeding as if it were a normal purchase. The games will then be added to your account for $0. Standouts include Beneath a Steel Sky, Shadow Warrior, Postal, and several Ultima games. Akalabeth: World of Doom (1979) Ascendant (2014) Beneath a Steel Sky (1994) Bio Menace (1993) Cayne (2017) Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure (2020) Doomdark’s Revenge (1984) Eschalon: Book I (2006) Flight of the Amazon Queen (1995) Hello Neighbor Alpha Version (2017) Janosik Jill of the Jungle: The Complete Trilogy (1991) The Lords of Midnight (1984) Lure of the Temptress (1992) Loria (2018) Open TTD (2004) Postal: Classic and Uncut (2003) Samorost 1 (2003) Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves (2013) Shadow Warrior Classic Complete (1997) Stargunner (1996) Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius (2014) Symphonia (2020) Teenagent (1994) Treasure Adventure Game (2011) Tyrian 2000 (1999) Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar (1985) Ultima World of Adventure 2: Martian Dreams (1991) Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire (1990) War Wind (1996) Free PlayStation Plus Games PlayStation Plus is Sony’s online multiplayer and games subscription service that costs $9.99 for one month, $24.99 for three months, or $59.99 for a full year. As part of the service, you can claim new games to keep every month. They’ll be accessible as long as you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription. Subscribers who own a PS5 can also keep games from a curated selection of titles. Claim games from your console by choosing the PlayStation Plus button on the PlayStation home screen or going through the PlayStation Network Store. Games can also be added from the PlayStation Store website as long as Automatic Downloads are enabled. Once this is set up, you can add games from web store and they’ll be remotely downloaded to your console. Deep Rock Galactic (Until Feb.1) In the cooperative shooter Deep Rock Galactic, up to four players must explore a procedurally generated cave system and perform certain duties. Players take control of character classes with unique weaponry and must work together in order to complete various missions. Dirt 5 (Until Feb.1) The off-road racing simulation game Dirt 5 lets you drive realistic cars in multiple types of races on a variety of courses around the world. The game also includes a career mode, as well as a dynamic weather system and seasons that can affect races. Persona 5 Strikers (Until Feb.1) Based on the Persona 5 RPG, Strikers takes the cast of the original game and throws them into a fast-paced action RPG. You control the game’s protagonist Joker, and a rotatable cast of party members, in an adventure set after Persona 5.
