Free games and giveaways in December 2026

Two kinds of free are covered here: free full games you keep (Epic, Prime Gaming, GOG) or play while subscribed (PS Plus, Game Pass), and free in-game gifts in games you already play. For codes, go to our game codes hub; for the rest of the season, the holiday gaming hub.

Epic Games Store: weekly free games and the holiday giveaway

Epic gives away at least one PC game every week, switching on Thursdays at 16:00 UTC (11 a.m. ET). Epic's own free games feed shows the next two weeks:

Last year (2025) the holiday giveaway was the event of the season. The Epic Games Holiday Sale ran from December 11, 2025 to January 8, 2026. Hogwarts Legacy was free for the first week, then a new mystery game unlocked every day from December 18 to December 31, 2025, each for about 24 hours, and the event closed with two games for a full week from January 1, 2026. Two outlets that tracked it day by day list 17 games, including Disco Elysium: The Final Cut on December 25, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, The Callisto Protocol, Chivalry 2 and Total War: Three Kingdoms.

For 2026, Epic's developer schedule (posted August 24, 2026) puts the Holiday Sale from December 10, 2026 to January 7, 2027. It does not mention free games, so treat a repeat of the daily mystery games as likely but unconfirmed.

Epic Extras: free in-game items during the sale

Last year Epic also handed out free in-game packs during the sale: a Fortnite wrap, a Fall Guys outfit, Rocket League wheels, a month of Discord Nitro and packs for Infinity Nikki, World of Warships, Asphalt Legends, SMITE 2 and other free games. If this returns, it will be on Epic's sale page in December.

Prime Gaming, PlayStation Plus, Game Pass and GOG

Prime Gaming now runs through Amazon Luna. Amazon's own FAQ says Prime members keep getting free PC games every month wherever Prime is available. The November 2026 lineup announced on November 5, 2026 includes WRC Generations, Jurassic World Evolution 2, Werewolf: The Apocalypse Earthblood and Arcadia Fallen, released on different days through November. The December lineup is usually announced early in the month.

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for November 2026 are Dead Island 2, Tomb Raider IV to VI Remastered and Monster Train 2, playable from November 3 to November 30, 2026. Sony usually reveals the next month on a Wednesday near the end of the month: last year the December 2025 lineup was posted on November 26, 2025 and included LEGO Horizon Adventures, Killing Floor 3 and Neon White, available until January 5, 2026.

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games, November 2026 (PlayStation Access)

Xbox Game Pass published November 2026 wave 1 on November 3, 2026, with games such as Football Manager 27, Warhammer Survivors and Thronefall arriving through November 17; wave 2 was not out on November 13, 2026. GOG runs giveaways irregularly around its sales; last year its Winter Sale ran from December 11, 2025 to January 3, 2026, and GOG's press release for it mentioned no free game.

A routine that catches every giveaway

Free games are easy to miss because each store has its own rhythm. This weekly routine covers all of them in five minutes:

1. Thursday, after 16:00 UTC: open the Epic Games Store free games page and claim the new game. In a daily mystery format, check every day instead.
2. Start of the month: claim the month's Prime Gaming games through Amazon Luna, and add the PS Plus Monthly Games to your library when they go live, usually on the first Tuesday of the month (November 3 this year).
3. Mid month: read the Xbox Wire Game Pass wave 2 post for games arriving and leaving.
4. Daily in December: log in to the games you play for advent calendar doors and login gifts.
5. Never: enter your account password on a "free game" site that is not the store itself. Real giveaways only happen on the store's own page.

On Steam, free to keep promotions exist too, but they are run by individual publishers for a few days at a time, not by Valve, so there is no fixed schedule. The confirmed Steam date this winter is the Winter Sale, December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027.

Free gifts inside games: advent calendars and login rewards

For players who already have a favourite game, the in-game gifts are often worth more than a free store game. On November 13, 2026 only part of this year is confirmed:

The one confirmed 2026 gift so far is in World of Warships: Wargaming's work in progress article of November 12, 2026 promises a free researchable Tier IX ship and two Santa's Gift containers when you first log in to the December update, plus Snowflakes that pay Coal, Steel or Festive Tokens in battle. If you start now, our beginner guide helps you make the most of it.

Update 14.11 Brings Back Holiday Magic and Festive Rewards (official World of Warships channel)

Free games you never have to claim

Store giveaways expire; free-to-play games do not. World of Sea Battle costs nothing on Steam, and last December it ran a Christmas event from December 23, 2025 to January 5, 2026 where snowball fire sank "Sea Elves" loaded with gifts and every player got a free flag and island decoration. Its developers wrote on October 22, 2026 that this year's Christmas event is in the works. It is a good game to start before the holidays so you are past the first ranks when the event opens; the event quests last year needed captain rank 7.

Our full list of free PC and phone games for the break is the best free games to play at Christmas, and for promo codes in all of them, the game codes hub.

FAQ