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 August.<\/b>
\nEveryone 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. Automachef (Until Sept.2) Automachef is a resource-management puzzle game where you design automated kitchens and then program the machines to do all the cooking. Gather resources, earn money, and keep the innovation going. Saints Row: The Third Remastered (Until Sept.2) Saints Row: The Third is an action-adventure game set within an open world, where you control the titular gang’s leader in their fight for supremacy against rival factions and paramilitary government agents. The title pivoted the series away from simple GTA clone and gave it the zany, humor-filled identity it’s known for today. Rocket League (Now Free) Rocket League, a game in which you play soccer with race cars, combines high-speed racing with competitive sports gameplay to make it an Editors’ Choice winner among competitive esports titles. It’s now a free-to-play game exclusive to the Epic Game Store. 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. You will see a banner with a free game and countdown. 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. Ultima Underworld 1 + 2 (Until Sept.3) In Ultima Underworld 1 + 2, you are the Avatar, who must venture through complex dungeons and save the kingdom from all threats. In these classic RPG games, you are free to explore and solve issues how you see fit. Along the way, you will fight enemies, complete quests, and gain abilities. Syndicate Plus (Until Sept.3) In the real-time tactics game Syndicate Plus, you control a team of cybernetically enhanced agents as they perform missions for their corporate overlords. You can set an agent’s equipment, modifications, and behavior to better suit the operation, with funds gathered from taxing territories under your control. Syndicate Wars (Until Sept.3) Syndicate Wars retains much of the gameplay elements of its predecessor as the Earth’s ruling corporation must face a group of insurgents backed by the church. The game allows you to play as either EuroCorp or the Church of the New Epoch. 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 it to your cart and proceeding as if it were a normal purchase. The game 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) 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 IndieGala Games IndieGala is a digital storefront that mainly focuses on cheap Steam keys and game bundles, but also offers a selection of free games that can be claimed for a limited amount of time. Select a title you wish to claim, then scroll down to the bottom of the game page and click the Add to Library button to lock the title to your account. You can then download the game to your desktop. Leisure Suit Larry 2, & 3 Leisure Suit Larry 2, and Leisure Suit Larry 3, and Leisure Suit Larry 5 are adventure games that follow our hero through his sexual misadventures. Can Larry Laffer find love in the end? Still Life 2 Adventure game Still Life 2 follows an FBI agent in her investigation of a serial killer in the state of Maine, while a journalist abducted by the killer must struggle to stay alive. Free Itch.io Games Tired of big blockbusters? Itch.io is a digital game store dedicated to indie titles you won’t find anywhere else. It offers plenty of free-to-play games, but some will even go on sale for 100% for a limited time. Find a game you want to grab and click the Download or claim button. If you’re feeling generous, you can fork over a few bucks to the developer, but it’s completely optional for free games. You can get the free game by clicking the No thanks, just take me to the downloads link and selecting Claim game to add it to your library. The game files are then made available to download. Bombo Rumble (Until Aug.31) In the four-player multiplayer game Bombo Rumble, you must throw bombs at your opponents while also avoiding getting blown up yourself. Collect in-game powerups to get an edge over your opponents. The Dark Retributionist (Until Aug.31) After waking up inside a crypt, The Dark Retributionist tasks you with finding a way to escape. Along the way, you will gather many items, weapons, and potions that will help you defeat enemies and traverse this platformer. Horror Hotel 3: Bloody Mary Version (Until Aug.31) In Horror Hotel 3, you investigate a hotel that is said to be haunted in order to prove people wrong about the place. Unfortunately, the rumors are true and you’re locked inside. Can you find a way out? Koi Puncher MMXVIII (Until Aug.31) True to its name, Koi Puncher pits you against other players to find out who can punch the most koi in the game’s multiple game modes. Shadow Wrangler (Until Aug.31) In the puzzle platformer Shadow Wrangler, your shadows have been separated from your body and you must command them to perform certain actions to reach the exit. Temple of the Wumpus (Until Aug.31) Are you searching for God? In Temple of the Wumpus, you do just that by exploring a holy shrine in the hopes of locating the divine presence of the titular Wumpus. You must uncover secrets, gather hints, and kneel in prayer in order to finally locate your target. Anaphora (Until Sept.2) In the psychological horror game Anaphora, you play as a detective who investigates a murder who then begins to experience supernatural occurrences revolving around the case. DayEnd (Until Sept.3) In the third-person shooter DayEnd, the zombie apocalypse is here, and you need to find a way to survive. The game features a single-player mode as well as an alternative Waves mode where you can see how long you can survive. Dayan (Until Sept.5) The adventure game Dayan has you controlling a girl in her fight against a curse that is consuming her. The game features two endings that depend on your in-game decisions and actions. Larger Than Light (Until Oct.31) In the puzzle platformer Larger Than Light, you control two children as they attempt to escape a haunted school. One child can move across shadows, while the other can manipulate the shadows for the other to walk across. Free Microsoft Store Games Microsoft doesn’t usually give away games on the Microsoft Store, but there are a few titles the company has decided to make free moving forward (some you can find only on the web, and not the desktop app). If you have a game code to redeem, sign into your Microsoft Account, then enter the code at redeem.microsoft.com; from the web app, go to More > Redeem a code. If it’s a game for your Xbox console, you must first make sure remote install is set up on your console. Crackdown 1 & 2 (Now Free) Microsoft has made the sandbox-style third-person shooters Crackdown, and its sequel Crackdown 2, available for free from the Microsoft Store. The games let you cause massive amounts of destruction as you fight enemies within the game world. Farming Simulator 14 & 16 (Now Free) Farming Simulator lets you grow crops, care for animals, and run a farm while operating true-to-life farming equipment. Newer editions have been released, but the 2014 and 2016 versions are now free in the Microsoft Store, giving you a good chance to try out the games before investing in the newest version. Phantom Dust (Now Free) The original Xbox release Phantom Dust combines third-person combat with card collecting to create a unique real-time strategy experience. Complete missions to gain new skills and equip unique builds for each new battle. The game was supposed to get a remaster on Xbox One, but was made free instead after it was cancelled. Too Human (Now Free) The action RPG Too Human is a science-fiction retelling of Norse mythology, where all the gods are cybernetically enhanced humans who must stop Loki’s machine army. 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 two 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 will also be able to keep games from a curated selection of titles. There are two ways to claim these games from your console. Choose the PlayStation Plus icon from the PlayStation home screen to see the currently available games, plus previously claimed titles. Claimed games can be re-downloaded from this page. You can also go through the PlayStation Network Store and select PS Plus in the left-hand menu. The other way allows you to add games to your console directly from the PlayStation Store as long as you have Automatic Downloads enabled. Once this is set up, you can choose the games you want from the web page and they will be remotely downloaded to your console. Hunter’s Arena: Legends – PS4\/PS5 (Until Sept.6) Freshly out of early access, Hunter’s Arena is a 30-play PvE battle royale that focuses on melee combat instead of the traditional shooter-based format. You will venture into dungeons and fight demons in order to find valuable loot and gain experience points. Use what you find to take on other players on the battlefield. Plants vs. Zombies: Battle For Neighborville on PS4 (Until Sept.6) The Plants vs. Zombies franchise is back with another third-person shooter that lets you control the plants or the zombies in cooperative or competitive multiplayer modes. The game features 20 customizable character classes, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique abilities. Tennis World Tour 2 – PS4 (Until Sept.6) You can take control of one of the world’s top tennis players in Ranked mode and Career mode, or play single and doubles multiplayer matches against other players online or on the couch. The game even allows you to create your player, so you can put in the work to make them a star. PlayStation Plus Collection – PS5 Only Those who own a PlayStation 5 and subscribe to PlayStation Plus now have access to a curated collection of PS4 games. Games can be claimed at any time and remain playable as long as there is an active subscription. The current lineup, from Sony and partner studios, includes: Batman: Arkham Knight Battlefield 1 Bloodborne Call of Duty: Black Ops III \u2013 Zombies Chronicles Edition Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy Days Gone Detroit: Become Human Fallout 4 Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition God of War Infamous Second Son Monster Hunter: World Mortal Kombat X Persona 5 Ratchet and Clank Resident Evil 7 biohazard The Last Guardian The Last of Us Remastered Uncharted 4: A Thief\u2019s End Until Dawn Free Prime Gaming (Twitch Prime) Games Prime Gaming (formerly known as Twitch Prime) is a subscription service that provides in-game loot, free games, and many other perks each month. The service costs $12.99 a month with a free 30-day trial or comes included with your $119 Amazon Prime subscription. Navigate to the Prime Gaming page, scroll down to the \u00ab\u00a0Games with Prime\u00a0\u00bb section, and select the Claim button next to the titles you want. To play games offered by Prime Gaming, you must download the Amazon Games launcher. Click the \u00ab\u00a0Download and Play\u00a0\u00bb link that appears next to the Claim button. In the pop-up window, click the link that says Download the Amazon Games Apps (Windows) to install the launcher. Once installed, Prime Gaming games can be claimed via the launcher. A Normal Lost Phone (Until Sept.1) If you found someone’s phone, what would you do? In this interactive puzzle game that deals with LGBTQ issues, you scroll through the lost device and peek into their lives to discover what happened to the owner. Another Lost Phone: Laura’s Story (Until Sept.1) The spiritual successor to A Normal Lost Phone has you find the lost phone of a person named Laura. She has been the victim of a harassment campaign, but you must discover what became of her. Battlefield V (Until Sept.1) The first-person World War II shooter Battlefield V includes playable stories centered around real-life events during the war. The game focuses on party-based gameplay, character customization, and several multiplayer modes, including battle royale mechanics. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Until Sept.1) This classic point-and-click adventure game has Indiana Jones on the trail of a Nazi agenda to steal ancient artifacts in the search for the lost city of Atlantis. The game allows the player to make decisions about how they continue the game’s plot. Lost Horizon 2 (Until Sept.1) In this point-and-click adventure game, a British soldier must save his family from powerful enemies during the early years of the Cold War. Metamorphosis (Until Sept.1) Based on the work of Franz Kafka, this adventure game puts you in control of a man who has transformed into an insect. Explore a surreal world as you try to unlock the truth about your new condition. Planet Alpha (Until Sept.1) You must survive a harsh alien world in a game that combines platforming action with puzzle solving and stealth elements. Escape from dangerous enemies, avoid environmental obstacles, and control the planet’s night and day cycle to find your way. Secret Files: Tunguska (Until Sept.1) This point-and-click adventure game sees Nina travel the world in order to locate her missing father. It turns out his disappearance may have something to do with the mysterious Tunguska event of 1908. Candleman: The Complete Journey (Starting Sept.1) In the 3D platformer Candleman, you play as a little candle that must navigate levels of almost total darkness. You can use the candle as a light source, but you also much manage how much you use it, otherwise you melt. Knockout City (Starting Sept.1) The team-based competitive multiplayer title Knockout City is presented as a game of dodgeball. Use powerups gained from different balls, and your own strategy, to outsmart your opponents and knock them out of the game. Puzzle Agent (Starting Sept.1) Influenced by Twin Peaks and Fargo, this puzzle adventure game tells the story of an FBI agent who is tasked with investigating the mysterious closure of an eraser factory. Sam & Max: Hit the Road (Starting Sept.1) The highly acclaimed point-and-click adventure game Sam & Max Hit the Road follows the titular characters on their quest to find a missing bigfoot while traveling through American tourist sites. Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis (Starting Sept.1) Adventure game Secret Files 2 follows the events of the first game and includes three playable characters in their separate investigations of natural disasters and an ominous prophecy for the end of the world. Tools Up! (Starting Sept.1) In the co-op game Tools Up!, you are tasked with renovating a house within a certain time limit. You must clean, paint, move furniture, and redecorate all before the homeowners return home. Unmemory (Starting Sept.1) This text-based game is an interactive novel with gameplay elements strewn throughout to help you uncover the story’s mystery and feel like a part of the plot. Can you solve the story’s puzzles and move forward? Free Steam Games Steam has many free games you can download at any time, but limited-time free titles are a rare occurrence. In the event that you do find a free game, you can \u00ab\u00a0buy\u00a0\u00bb it on Steam like you normally would, but it will be automatically added to your library instead of having to check out. If you have a Steam Key code, you can claim the game by launching the Steam client and clicking Games Menu > Activate a Product on Steam. Follow the instructions to complete the process and get your game. You may also need to connect your Steam account with another online retailer (e.g. Humble Bundle) before you can enter the code. RiMS Racing: Bahrain International Circuit (Until Sept.2) The motorcycle racing simulator RiMS Racing includes 15 faithfully recreated official circuits and roadways, but there is another track available as a DLC. For a limited time, you can grab the Bahrain International Circuit for free and save yourself $5. Nights Into Dreams (While Supplies Last) It turns out that Sega has a few more Steam codes to give out from its 60th anniversary celebration. Register your email with Sega, then claim a key for the classic console game Nights Into Dreams in your email. Crusader King II (Now Free) The grand strategy game Crusader Kings III has been well received, but you can preview the experience for free. Paradox Interactive has made Crusader Kings II free-to-play, giving gamers a chance to see what the excitement is all about. While the base game is free on Steam, the game’s many DLCs are still paid. Endless Space Collection You can get the 4X strategy game Endless Space and its Disharmony DLC directly from the developer thanks to its Games2gether platform. Sign up for an account and open the reward page (the present icon in the top-right corner) to see your free game. Just link your Steam account to receive the free Steam key and save $10. Samorost (Now Free) The surrealist point-and-click puzzle game Samorost was initially released in 2003 but has now been remastered with enhanced sounds, graphics, and new music. The developer has made the game free forever. Total War: Shogun 2 – Battle of Kawagoe (Now Free) If you already have Total War: Shogun 2 in your Steam library, you can grab the Battle of Kawagoe map for free. It was originally released as a pre-order bonus in 2011, but now anyone can play the legendary battle that saw the Hojo clan launch an attack against the Uesugi, Ogigayatsu, and Ashikaga clans under the cover of night. Free Xbox Live Gold Games Xbox Live Gold is the premium subscription tier of the Xbox Live online gaming service that costs $9.99 a month or $24.99 for three months. It is also included in the cost of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Among the many perks you get is free Xbox games every month. While original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles are yours to keep forever, Xbox One games can only be played as long as you have an active Xbox Live Gold subscription. To claim your free games with an Xbox Live Gold subscription, go to the Gold section on your Xbox One console or visit this page on a computer to queue up the game for download on your console. Games are added on the 1st and 16th of every month. Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Until Aug.31) This classic SNK fighting game is the final entry in the Fatal Fury series. It features the Tactical Offense Position system, which allows you to deal more damage and perform special attacks after a certain amount of damage is taken. The Just Defend system also rewards players for blocking attacks at the last moment. Yooka-Laylee (Until Sept.15) Built as a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series of 3D platformers, Yooka-Laylee features the same two-in-one character abilities that allow the player to fight enemies, collect items, and solve puzzles using different abilities. Warhammer: Chaosbane (Sept.1 – 30) Set within the Warhammer universe, Chaosbane is a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler with five character classes, each with their own abilities. The game features a story mode, boss rush mode, local and online co-op gameplay, and plenty of additional paid content to keep you interested. Zone of the Enders HD Collection (Sept.1 – 15) Zone of the Enders and its sequel, The 2nd Runner, are collected into one bundle here. The games are third-person shooters with hack-and-slash gameplay centered around mecha combat. Samurai Shodown II (Sept.16 – 30) Originally released in 1994, this SNK classic fighting game completely rebuilt and redefined the series after the success of the first game. Can you stop a vengeful spirit from unleashing chaos upon the world? Mulaka (Sept.16 – Oct.15) In this action-adventure game, you control a Tarahumaran shaman as you fight mythological creatures, use the powers of demigods, craft magic potions, and solve puzzles all within the beautiful true-to-life landscape of northern Mexico. Miscellaneous Free Games Not every free game is part of a larger program or initiative. If we find a random giveaway or a DRM-free download, we will share them below. Apogee Classics Before 3D Realms created the Duke Nukem series, the company created adventure games for MS-DOS under the name Apogee Software Productions. You can grab several of these games for free if you create an account at 3drealms.com. Claimed games will appear under My Games, which can then be downloaded directly to your computer. Here’s the list of Apogee games: Alien Carnage Arctic Adventure Bio Menace Major Stryker Monuments of Mars Pharaoh’s Tomb Stargunner Blizzard Arcade Collection The Blizzard Arcade Collection brings together the definitive editions of three classic games: 1994 action platformer Blackthorne,1993 puzzle platformer The Lost Vikings, and 1994 isometric racing game Rock N’ Roll Racing. While Blizzard expects you to pay $20 for the upscaled versions, you can still download and play the original games without needing to pay. The Elder Scrolls: Arena The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first entry in the popular Bethesda series and has been free of charge since 2004. Download the full game on the company’s website. It combines designed spaces with procedurally generated areas to create a vast, explorable game far bigger than what was usually possible back in the ’90s. The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall has been free since 2009; get it from the Bethesda website. Like Arena, Daggerfall features thousands of towns and dungeons to explore, as well as guilds to join, which offer their own questlines. Marathon Trilogy Before Bungie developed Halo for Microsoft, the company created Marathon, a Doom clone set in space that is considered a spiritual predecessor to Master Chief’s adventures. Bungie developed Marathon, Marathon 2: Durandal, and Marathon Infinity in the mid-90s, then publicly released the source code prior to the Microsoft purchase. Now, Aleph One continues support and development of the games, which you can download and play here. StarCraft Blizzard released StarCraft: Remastered in 2017, so it made the original real-time strategy game, and its sequel, free to play. You can download StarCraft Anthology, which packaged the original game with the Brood War expansion pack, and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty for free.<\/p>\n