The biggest free games this weekend are Battlefield 6 and Stranded Deep, both free to play on Steam until Monday, October 19 at 17:00 UTC (10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. BST). Xbox Free Play Days add NBA 2K27 from Friday, Steam Next Fest opens on Monday with a week of free demos, and an Epic Games Store sale is scheduled to start the same morning. All prices and times below were checked on official store pages on October 16, 10:45 UTC.
Table of Contents
Free games this weekend at a glance
| What | Where | Cost | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battlefield 6 (free weekend) | Steam | Free to play | Oct 19, 17:00 UTC |
| Stranded Deep (free weekend) | Steam | Free to play | Oct 19, 17:00 UTC |
| NBA 2K27, Crusader Kings III, Ravenswatch and more | Xbox Free Play Days | Game Pass Ultimate, Premium or Essential | Sunday, Oct 18 |
| The Alters (3-hour trial) | Xbox | Free for everyone | Sunday, Oct 18 |
| Bad Cheese and Agent A | Epic Games Store | Free to keep | Oct 22, 15:00 UTC |
| Steam Next Fest demos | Steam | Free demos | Oct 19-26, 17:00 UTC |
Battlefield 6 and Stranded Deep are free on Steam until October 19
EA’s Battlefield 6 free weekend started on October 15 and, in EA’s words, lets you play “every available map and mode” through a separate full-game trial download. It lands days after Season 5 added the Vegas Strip and Area 51 maps. EA notes that trial periods vary by platform. Steam reviews are “Mixed” (62% positive across nearly 300,000), so a free try makes sense.
If you want to keep playing, the Standard Edition is 60% off at $27.99 (normally $69.99) and the Game of the Year Edition is 40% off at $59.99, both until October 20 at 17:00 UTC.
A beach camp in Stranded Deep, free on Steam until October 19 and $7.99 after. Image: Beam Team Games
Stranded Deep is the gentler pick: an open-world survival game where you play a plane crash survivor scavenging across islands in the Pacific, solo or in co-op. It’s worth your time if you like slow, crafting-led survival more than shootouts. It’s rated “Mostly Positive” (74%) and drops to $7.99 (60% off $19.99) until October 22 at 17:00 UTC.
Xbox Free Play Days: NBA 2K27 joins on Friday
According to Xbox Wire, Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members can play Crusader Kings III, Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop, Soccer Story and Ravenswatch until Sunday, October 18. NBA 2K27 Standard Edition joins on Friday, October 16 at 12 p.m. PDT (3 p.m. EDT, 19:00 UTC, 8 p.m. BST). Xbox doesn’t give an exact end time for Sunday. On console, look for the Free Play Days collection under the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store. If you buy a game afterwards, Xbox says you keep the Gamerscore and achievements you earned during the event.
No Game Pass? The Alters has a free 3-hour timed trial for all Xbox players this weekend, no membership required.
This weekend's Free Play Days lineup; The Alters trial is open to all players. Image: Xbox
| Game | Xbox sale price | Normal price | Sale ends (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crusader Kings III | $20.00 | $49.99 | Oct 19 |
| Soccer Story | $2.99 | $19.99 | Oct 19, 23:59 |
| Ravenswatch | $10.49 | $29.99 | Oct 20, 09:59 |
| The Alters | $15.74 | $34.99 | Oct 30, 09:59 |
Steam Next Fest starts Monday, October 19
Valve’s Steamworks schedule puts the October 2026 Next Fest at October 19, 10 a.m. PDT (17:00 UTC, 1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. BST) to October 26 at 10 a.m. PDT (17:00 UTC; 5 p.m. GMT, since UK clocks go back on October 25). It’s a week of free demos of upcoming games, plus developer chats and livestreams. If you have a Switch 2, the free Monster Hunter Wilds Prologue Demo arrives on October 19 PT too, and PS5 players can still join the free Squad PS5 alpha, which runs until October 25.
Epic Games Store: free games and the sale from October 19
This week’s Epic freebies, Bad Cheese and Agent A, stay free until Thursday, October 22 at 15:00 UTC; our Bad Cheese and Agent A guide has the details and how to claim them. Epic’s own promotions data also schedules new discounts from Monday, October 19 at 15:00 UTC (8 a.m. PDT, 11 a.m. EDT, 4 p.m. BST) to November 2 at 16:00 UTC. Epic hasn’t announced the sale’s name or full lineup yet; confirmed so far:
- Castlevania Anniversary Collection: 60% off $19.99 (about $8). A neat warm-up if you just picked up Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse.
- Monument Valley: 65% off $7.99 (about $2.80), a calm puzzle game for a quiet evening.
- Eternal Threads: 80% off $19.99 (about $4).
The original Castlevania, one of eight games in the Anniversary Collection, 60% off on Epic from October 19. Image: Konami
Other big deals worth a look this weekend
| Game | Store | Deal | Ends (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halo: The Master Chief Collection | Steam | $9.99 (75% off $39.99) | Oct 19, 17:00 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | Steam | $17.99 (70% off $59.99) | Oct 26, 18:00 |
| 007 First Light | Steam | $41.99 (40% off $69.99) | Oct 22, 17:00 |
| Hello Kitty Island Adventure | Nintendo eShop (US) | $21.99 (45% off $39.99) | Oct 19, 06:59 |
| A Little to the Left | Nintendo eShop (US) | $5.99 (60% off $14.99) | Oct 30, 15:59 |
| Street Fighter 6 (Switch 2) | Nintendo eShop (US) | $15.99 (60% off $39.99) | Nov 5, 07:59 |
The cozy pick is Hello Kitty Island Adventure, but move fast: its sale ends at 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, October 18. Prices are US store prices and can differ by region.
What’s next
Epic’s next free games, Sker Ritual and Home, are due from October 22 at 15:00 UTC, and Steam’s Scream V horror fest follows on October 26. For everything else happening today, follow our gaming news live page.
Sources: Steam (Battlefield 6), Steam (Stranded Deep), Xbox Wire, Steamworks upcoming events, Epic Games Store promotions data, Microsoft Store and Nintendo eShop product pages. Checked October 16, 2026, 10:45 UTC.
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Featured image: Electronic Arts
