After hundreds of giveaways, the Epic Games Store can still deliver a few surprises with its weekly free games. Some weeks might see under-the-radar indies like Turnip Boy Robs a Bank given away through the Free Games program, while other drops have included GOTY winners like Deathloop. How does Epic decide on a game for the Free Games program? There are several factors at play, like aiming to highlight games which the public may have overlooked and helping a studio to raise its profile, Epic says.
“It’s multiple factors. We showcase big flagship titles for our tentpole moments–like the Mega Sale and the start/end of the Holiday Sale–that have broad appeal and get our entire audience excited,” Kyle Billings, director of strategy and business operations at the Epic Games Store, said to GameSpot. “We also showcase games that weren’t visible to a wide audience, or help studios find a new audience ahead of an upcoming release. Those titles might not have broad appeal, but the Free Games Program gives them another shot with players who might have missed them before.”
So far, Epic’s Free Games program has attracted a wide variety of publishers, and Billings added that participating in the giveaways has had a positive impact on the studios that took part. “Developers see the value of player discovery on the Epic Game Store: participating titles have seen a 40% lift in Steam CCU while free on the Epic Games Store, and 77% of them set all-time peak CCU records on PC in that window. There are valid reasons why a developer might choose not to participate in the Program, but for studios, participation usually comes down to timing and the lifecycle management for their games.”
The Free Games program has also seen many people create an Epic Games Store account purely to grab freebies, but Billings added that there has been a conversion rate over time, and one that Epic intends to grow by making some serious upgrades to the storefront.
“The conversion rate for those who claim a free game and make a purchase is about 16% over a reasonable amount of time. At the end of the day, it’s not all about player spend,” Billings said. “The Free Games program is designed to connect players with great games. Some of those players choose not to make purchases for whatever reason. Our goal is to keep building a storefront and launcher that players want to engage with and use to grow their game library, but we need to be able to connect players with the game they want to play at the time they want to play it.”
According to Epic’s recent year-in-review stats, over $1 billion was spent in the store in 2025, and the storefront reached an all-time record of 78 million monthly active users on PC. Epic is also looking to utilize the appeal of its highly successful Fortnite game to draw more people to the Epic Games Store, as the company announced free themed cosmetics based on popular games are also in the works for players of the live-service shooter.
