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PC gamers with an Epic Games Store account (it’s free) can now pick up Europa Universalis 4, the latest in the grand strategy simulation spanning the centuries from the Renaissance to the Mexican and Brazilian wars for independence. The PC game is available for free right now until Aug. 17. Europa Universalis is joined by Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You.
Europa Universalis 4 launched in 2013 and was followed by 20 content expansions, the latest being Domination, which arrived April 18. It added new mission trees and features for 10 nations, plus new special units for the armies and navies of another nine countries.
Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You launched in 2016 and, while entirely fictional, its police state greatly resembles Great Britain in a dystopic near-future. The player works for the Nation ostensibly to investigate citizens suspected of terrorist affiliations. They’re expected to upload the intelligence they gather to an AI named Orwell for analysis, the key decision being what data they choose to upload or withhold.
The next free games coming to Epic Games Store members will be Black Book, a card-based RPG adventure based on Slavic myth, and Dodo Peak, a retro arcade-style platformer (think Congo Bongo) where you play as a dodo trying to rescue her babies. Those games will be available beginning Aug. 17.
The Epic Games Store free games are available to anyone who has an Epic Games Store account; they’ll be added to your library and launched from there. Epic has been giving away free games on a weekly basis, as an inducement to join the store (and play Epic’s own games, such as Fortnite), since it launched in December 2018.
When does the Epic Games Store update with free games?
Typically, Epic refreshes its lineup of free games every Thursday at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
Epic Games Store 2023 free games history
- Aug. 3 to Aug. 10: Loop Hero and Bloons TD 6
- July 27 to Aug. 3: Homeworld Remastered Collection and Severed Steel
- July 20 to July 27: The Elder Scrolls Online and Murder by Numbers
- July 13 to July 20: Train Valley 2
- July 6 to July 13: Grime
- June 30 to July 6: The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet of Chaos
- June 22 to June 29: Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realm and theHunter: Call of the Wild
- June 15 to June 22: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition and Guacamelee! 2
- June 8 to June 15: Payday 2
- June 1 to June 8: Midnight Ghost Hunt
- May 25 to June 1: Fallout: New Vegas – Ultimate Edition
- May 18 to May 25: Death Stranding
- May 11 to May 18: The Sims 4 Daring Lifestyle Bundle
- May 4 to May 11: Against All Odds, Horizon Chase Turbo, and Kao the Kangaroo
- April 27 to May 4: Breathedge and Poker Club
- April 20 to April 27: Beyond Blue and Never Alone
- April 13 to April 20: Second Extinction and Mordhau
- April 6 to April 13: Dying Light: Enhanced Edition and Shapez
- March 30 to April 6: Tunche and The Silent Age
- March 23 to March 30: Chess Ultra and the World of Warships Starter Pack: Ishizuchi
- March 16 to March 23: Warhammer 40,000: Gladius — Relics of War
- March 9 to March 16: Call of the Sea
- March 2 to March 9: Rise of Industry
- Feb. 23 to March 2: Duskers
- Feb. 16 to Feb. 23: Warpips
- Feb. 9 to Feb. 16: Recipe for Disaster
- Feb. 2 to Feb. 9: Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and City of Gangsters
- Jan. 26 to Feb. 2: Adios and Hell is Others
- Jan. 19 to Jan. 26: Epistory – Typing Chronicles
- Jan. 12 to Jan. 19: First Class Trouble, Gamedec — Definitive Edition, and Divine Knockout
- Jan. 5 to Jan. 12: Kerbal Space Program and Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice
- Jan. 1 to Jan 5: Dishonored — Definitive Edition and Eximius: Seize the Frontline
