Forget partridges, forget turtle doves and maids milking and fiiiiiiiive golden rings and all that nonsense. How does twelve days of video games sound instead? That’s Epic’s offer for the holidays—twelve free games over the next twelve days, one per.
The giveaways start today with superb tactics game Into the Breach, so good it made it onto our Game of the Year list in 2018. And the rest? A secret, like an advent calendar that’s actually worth opening. No more mediocre chocolates for me, thanks. I’ve got video games.
It all coincides with Epic’s Holiday Sale—which, given the number of exclusives on the Epic Games Store, means this is the steepest discount you’ll see on some of these games. That includes some of our favorite games of 2019, like Control for 33 percent off, What the Golf? for $13, Observation for 50 percent off, and Metro Exodus for $20—though in the case of the latter, it’s set to hit Steam in February. We’re coming up on the end of the exclusivity periods for some of those early deals.
Oddly enough, Outer Wilds is not on sale. You can still knock $10 off it though with an “Epic Coupon.” It’s the same promotion Epic ran over the summer, $10 off any game $15 or more. If you use one during the Holiday Sale, you’ll get another. They’re good through May 2020 as well, so you should probably grab one and hold onto it if you’re looking to buy any games this spring.
But the free games are the main draw, for sure. Even if you don’t spend a dime in the sale, you could come away with weeks and weeks of entertainment. In a year that’s seen Epic give away more than 50 games, dumping another dozen on the list still feels like one hell of a coup de grace.
It’s so extravagant, I’m left to wonder: Is this the end of the freebies? I wouldn’t be surprised. I thought the well would dry up when Epic hit its one-year anniversary, but one last hurrah ending on December 31? That certainly feels like a cleaner break. Then again, Fortnite’s still raking in cash and Epic’s kept this program going longer than I ever expected. Maybe there are another 60-odd games waiting in the wings for 2020.
I guess we’ll find out January 1. See you in the new year.