TIPS: Free Games Every Week: How to Build a Massive Game Library Without Spending a Dime

If you're a PC gamer, you might be missing out on hundreds of dollars worth of premium games—completely free. Two major platforms quietly give away high-quality titles every single week and month, but many gamers never claim them because they simply don't know to check.

Between Epic Games Store's weekly Thursday drops and Amazon Prime Gaming's monthly lineup, you can build an impressive game library without spending a cent. Here's everything you need to know about claiming these freebies before they disappear.

Epic Games Store: Your Weekly Thursday Ritual

Every Thursday at 11 AM EST (8 AM PST), Epic Games Store refreshes its free games lineup. You typically get one to three games absolutely free—and they're yours to keep forever once claimed.

The catch? You have exactly seven days to claim each game before it rotates out. Miss that window, and it's gone.

How to Claim Epic Free Games

1. Create a free Epic Games account at store.epicgames.comgaming.amazon.com
2. Enable two-factor authentication (required for free games)
3. Visit the Epic Games Store every Thursday
4. Click "Get" on any free games available
5. They're added to your library permanently

Epic's Most Legendary Giveaways

Epic has given away some absolutely massive titles over the years. If you missed these, you missed out on thousands of dollars in value:

Grand Theft Auto V - The game that broke the internet when Epic gave it away for free. The traffic was so overwhelming that it crashed Epic's servers. Valued at $30, this was one of the most popular games of the decade.

Death Stranding - Hideo Kojima's critically acclaimed open-world game was given away for free, normally retailing for $60.

Civilization VI - The complete Civilization VI experience, including DLC, worth over $100. This strategy masterpiece kept gamers busy for hundreds of hours.

Star Wars Battlefront II - EA's fully updated Star Wars shooter with all DLC content included.

Control Ultimate Edition - Remedy's mind-bending supernatural action game with all expansions, worth $40.

Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - Both Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel with all DLC, valued at $60.

Batman Arkham Trilogy - Not just one, but three AAA Batman games in a single giveaway, plus LEGO Batman titles.

Total War: Troy - Epic made waves by offering this game for free on its first day of release as an Epic exclusive.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - A $60 AAA title from Square Enix, given away less than two years after release.

Cities: Skylines - The city-building phenomenon that rivals SimCity.

Subnautica - The underwater survival game that became a cult classic.

Recent 2025 giveaways have included Dead Island 2, Ghostrunner 2, and a steady stream of quality indie titles alongside AAA releases.

Amazon Prime Gaming: Multiple Games Every Month

If you're already paying for Amazon Prime for the free shipping, you're missing out on serious value if you're not claiming Prime Gaming titles. Amazon gives away 10-15 PC games every month at no additional cost.

How Prime Gaming Works

Unlike Epic's single-week window, Prime Gaming releases games in waves throughout the month:

• First batch: Beginning of the month
• Second batch: Mid-month (usually around the 13th)
• Third batch: Late month (usually around the 20th)
• Final batch: End of month (usually around the 26th)

Games are distributed across multiple platforms: Epic Games Store, GOG, Amazon Games App, and Microsoft Store. Once claimed, they're yours forever.

Claiming Prime Gaming Titles

1. Sign into gaming.amazon.com with your Prime account
2. Browse available games under the "Games" tab
3. Click "Claim" on any game you want
4. You'll receive a code or direct link to the platform
5. Redeem on the appropriate platform (Epic, GOG, etc.)

November 2025's lineup includes 13 games worth over $200:

• New Tales from the Borderlands (Epic Games Store) - The narrative adventure from the Borderlands universe
• Fallout 76 (Microsoft Store) - Bethesda's multiplayer Fallout experience
• Fort Solis (GOG) - The atmospheric narrative thriller
• Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition (GOG) - A remastered classic
• PlateUp! (Epic Games Store) - The chaotic cooking roguelite
• Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Sun Series (GOG) - Classic RPG collection
• Dungeons & Dragons: Krynn Series (GOG) - More D&D classics
• Plus several more indie titles

Historic Prime Gaming Highlights

Amazon has given away some serious heavy-hitters:

BioShock Collection - The complete BioShock trilogy

Doom Eternal - id Software's demon-slaying masterpiece

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition - The entire Mass Effect trilogy remastered

Fallout: New Vegas - Arguably the best Fallout game ever made

XCOM 2 - The definitive turn-based strategy experience

Star Wars Jedi Knight series - Multiple classic Star Wars games

Tomb Raider games - Including the rebooted trilogy

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - The innovative Nemesis System game

Batman Arkham games - Multiple entries in the acclaimed series

Watch Dogs - Ubisoft's open-world hacking game

Why These Games Often Go Unclaimed

Here's the thing: neither Epic nor Amazon actively notifies you about new free games unless you've opted into their emails. The games just... appear.

If you're not checking every Thursday (for Epic) or throughout the month (for Prime), you're missing titles worth hundreds of dollars annually. Many gamers have accidentally skipped AAA releases simply because they forgot to check.

Pro Tips for Maximizing Your Free Game Collection

Set recurring calendar reminders: Add "Check Epic Games" every Thursday at 11 AM EST to your calendar. Set monthly reminders for Prime Gaming checks.

Claim everything: Even if a game doesn't interest you now, claim it anyway. Your tastes change, and having options costs nothing.

Follow social media accounts: Both @EpicGames and @PrimeGaming announce their giveaways on Twitter/X. Turn on notifications.

Use browser bookmarks: Bookmark store.epicgames.com/free-games and gaming.amazon.com for instant access.

Check Reddit: Communities like r/FreeGameFindings track every free game promotion across all platforms.

Don't ignore indie games: Some of the best gaming experiences come from indie titles. Hades, Celeste, and Hollow Knight all started as smaller releases.

Install games later: You don't need to install games immediately. Once claimed, they're in your library forever. You can download them whenever you want.

The Bottom Line

Between Epic Games Store and Amazon Prime Gaming, you can easily collect 50-70 free games per year. At an average value of $20 per game, that's over $1,000 in gaming content annually.

Epic releases free games every Thursday at 11 AM EST. Amazon Prime Gaming releases games in waves throughout each month. Both require just minutes to claim, and both let you keep the games forever.

Stop paying full price for games. Start checking these platforms regularly, and watch your game library grow without spending a dime. The only cost? A few minutes of your time each week.