DisclosureGameRath may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. How we make money
October opened with a genuinely strong week for free games: Amazon Prime Gaming's new monthly batch is one of its largest in a while, and the 2026 Steam Autumn Sale is now live. Here's what's actually worth your time before anything rotates out.
Amazon Prime Gaming's October Lineup
Prime Gaming's October lineup runs to roughly 28 titles across the month, and the headliners are genuinely strong: DOOM Eternal, BioShock Remastered, and A Plague Tale: Innocence are all included, alongside the horror title Scorn. That's a meaningfully better batch than most months, which tend to lean on smaller indie titles padded around one or two recognizable names. GameRath may earn a commission if you sign up for Amazon Prime through links on this page, which includes Prime Gaming access alongside the usual shipping perks.
Prime Gaming is a benefit bundled into every Amazon Prime subscription, separate from Amazon's retail discounts, that gives members free PC games, in-game loot, and subscriber perks for select live-service titles. Titles are added permanently to your library on their respective platform (Epic Games Store, GOG, or a direct download, depending on the title) once claimed, but once a monthly batch rotates out it's generally gone for good — claim what you want from October's lineup before the month ends rather than assuming it'll still be there later.
Epic Games Store's Weekly Freebie
Epic continues its usual weekly rotation, swapping in a new free game (or pair of games) every Thursday. The current week's picks are worth checking directly on the Epic Games Store homepage, since the exact titles change before this roundup does — but the mechanic is always the same: claim costs nothing beyond an Epic account, and the game is yours to keep permanently regardless of whether you ever open it again.
The Steam Autumn Sale Is Live
The 2026 Steam Autumn Sale opened October 1 and runs through October 8 — one of Steam's broader seasonal events, covering far more of the catalog than the genre-themed festivals that run most other weeks of the year. If you've been sitting on a wishlist, now's the window; wishlisted titles typically trigger a price-drop notification the moment a sale starts, which is the easiest way to not miss a deal you actually wanted. Shopping for hardware to run this fall's haul at a higher resolution or frame rate? Our current GPU deals roundup and RAM deals roundup are worth a look before the sale closes, and if you want something free to play that never rotates out, our best free-to-play games list has picks that are always available.
Check back weekly — between Prime Gaming's monthly batches, Epic's rotating freebies, and Steam's sale calendar, there's rarely a stretch of more than a few days without something worth claiming.
For more ways to play for less, our Best Gaming Deals hub covers free games, subscriptions and how to spot a real discount.
Sources: TechSpot — Amazon Prime Gaming's October giveaways include Doom Eternal, BioShock Remastered, and A Plague Tale: Innocence, LevelUp — Prime Gaming's October giveaway: 28 titles at no cost
