While giveaways and sales are very common on digital gaming storefronts, the Epic Games Store has made a name for itself by offering free games to grab and keep every week or so for years. Throughout the promotion's life, there have been certain trends and traditions that it has adhered to, like the mystery game campaign during the holidays. 2025 so far has seen the offerings take a turn from what players expect from them.
These changes aren't anything for Epic Games Store regulars to worry about, but they're enough to raise a few questions. Firstly, where the Epic Games Store usually offers titles relevant to upcoming holidays, Valentine's Day came and went with only an Apex Legends unlock pack up for grabs. For the first time since the promotion began, the spring sale offered three mystery games throughout the two weeks it was active. Then, April brought a barrage of live-service title giveaways two weeks in a row. Luckily, the week of April 18 seems to learn from the last rotation's mistake, as Botanicula is being given away with Firestone's "Epic Games Store special offer." Additionally, those who weren't happy with Arcadegeddon and Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms should check back, as River City Girls has been added in the middle of the week unannounced.
The 10 Best Epic Games Store Free Games of 2024
The Epic Games Store gives away freebies every week regularly with a few special promotions in between to spice things up, giving away a few gems.
Epic Games Store Free Game River City Girls Explained
River City Girls is a rather unique spin-off of the Kunio-kun series in which the original protagonists, Kunio and Riki, are kidnapped and need to be rescued by their girlfriends, Misako and Kyoko. Just as the name suggests, players make their way through as the two girls, aiming to find who took their partners and beat up anyone responsible. Fans get to explore River City and cause over-the-top anime chaos to any of their enemies thanks to the direction of pixel artist Valeriya Sanchilo alongside Priscilla Hamby of Devil's Candy.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
- Released
- September 5, 2019
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Language, Mild Blood, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- WayForward Technologies
- Publisher(s)
- Arc System Works
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Beat 'Em Up
Epic Games Store Free Game Botanicula Explained
When the life of their home tree is at risk, five brave little critters go on a humorous journey to protect the tree's last seed. Botanicula uplifts many players with a story of hope filled with jokes all the way through, enticing players to do the unexpected to uncover fun secrets. While Botanicula might not have aged well to some gamers - it was released in 2012 after all - there's still wonder to be found within it for those looking for a simple yet worthwhile game to spend time with.
- Released
- April 19, 2012
- Developer(s)
- Amanita Design
- Publisher(s)
- Amanita Design, Daedalic Entertainment
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Verified
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Exploration, Adventure, Point-and-click
Epic Games Store Free Game Firestone Explained
Just like Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms before it, Firestone is a live-service idle RPG that is giving Epic Games Store players the chance to grab rare items for playing through the storefront exclusively. Frequent visitors to Epic's free games page may be familiar with Firestone as developers Holyday Studios have given out similar bonuses in the past. Those interested can find a list of what the upcoming giveaway offers below.
- Exclusive skin “The legendary hoplite” for hero Boris
- 2 Avatars for your character profile
- 10 Common chests, each containing at least 1 piece of Hero’s gear
- 5 Uncommon chests containing at least 1 Uncommon gear
- 10 Wooden chests with at least 1 piece of Hero’s jewels
- 5 Iron chests with at least 1 Uncommon jewel
- 360 Strange dust to train your Guardians or conduct Experiments
- 50 scrolls to enhance your stats in battles
- 35 Game tokens to test your luck at the Tavern
- 5 Prestige tokens, to perform EPIC prestiges
- 200 gems
- Released
- September 26, 2019
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Holyday Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Holyday Studios
- Engine
- Unity
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Idle Games, Strategy, RPG
Even if the Epic Games Store has been shaking things up with what players have come to expect from its giveaways, the storefront has still managed to give fans the chance to try out many different experiences at no extra cost. There are still plenty of months to go in the year, so other holidays and mystery game windows could prove worthwhile for a variety of gamers going forward. Even if things remain as unpredictable as they have been in the first third of the year, fans can at least count EGS freebies every week, which always drop on Thursday at 10 AM CT.
