Free games are always hard to pass, so if you are craving some meaty releases to tide you over until something new and fresh that catches your fancy comes along, this Epic Games Store might (and might not) be for you. From October 17th through October 24th, the digital storefront so many love to hate is offering two generally well thought-off games i the form of Observer and Alan Wake's American Nightmare.

Whether you crave a meaty, cyberpunk-inspired detective story in Observer, or a not so meaty, all-hell-broken-lose experience set in the excellent Alan Wake universe, you can drop by your Epic Games Store Launcher (we know you have it installed, come on) and just add them to your cart for free. They're yours to keep forever. And if you don't have the Epic Games Store launcher, perhaps you should. Observer might very well make it worth all the hassle of downloading and clicking through a menu three or four times. And as a very relevant footnote, the Epic Games Store has just started its Halloween Sale, which goes from today, October 18th, through November 1st. You can find some older games discounted up to 70%, with the discount decreasing somewhat linearly according to release date.

The EPIC Games Store, the digital storefront most PC gamers love to hate, has made available two free gamers for those who want to simply login to their store. The first game is Metro 2033: Redux, the updated Metro 2033 version that uses its sequel, Metro: Last Light's graphics engine. Besides the updated graphics, there are numerous quality of life improvements in the game, making it the definitive version of it to try out (if you have been living under a rock, or just haven't had any time for gaming in recent years whatsoever).

The other game is Everything, a procedurally-generated game that simulates mechanics and systems of nature. There is no objective in this game - the objective is just to immerse yourself and your time on a leisurely approach to space and planet-bound systems. Just log into your EPIC games account via the store and you can add both these games to your digital library (did I mention they're available for free?)

As the trade war between the US and China continues to unfold, we are seeing major US companies ban or stop providing service to China's technology giant Huawei. Now, it looks like the trade war has crossed the ocean and reached the UK. This time, UK based ARM Holdings, the provider of mobile chip IP for nearly all smartphones and tablets, has revoked the license it has given Huawei.

According to the BBC, ARM Holdings employees were instructed to suspend all interactions with Huawei, and to send a note informing Huawei that "due to an unfortunate situation, they were not allowed to provide support, deliver technology (whether software, code, or other updates), engage in technical discussions, or otherwise discuss technical matters with Huawei, HiSilicon or any of the other named entities." The news came from an internal ARM document the BBC has obtained.

Everyone likes free stuff, so why not enjoy a free copy of Ubisoft's STEEP game? Today Ubisoft announced on their Twitter page that they will be giving away free copies of the STEEP, Ubisoft's game focused on extreme snow sports. It requires you to have a Uplay account to redeem it for free. After getting the game you will be able to keep it forever. But there is a catch. I, for example, can't redeem the giveaway as I am not from the US. The giveaway seems to be targeted at US users exclusively.

Update: Several users on TechPowerUp Forums are reporting that they have redeemed the giveaway without being in the US. It is global. There must have been a problem when I checked it out.

STEEP is game about snow adventures such as snowboarding and sky-diving. Launched way back in the year 2016, it still is a good software everyone should try out. So if you are from the US and want to try some extreme snow adventures and dive deep into the world's mountains without leaving the comfort of your home, you can check the giveaway here. The giveaway will last until May 21st when it will officially end. If you have redeemed the game before that, you will be keeping it forever.

The Humble Store, creators of the Humble Bundle where every purchase you make can be personalized, dividing the amount you pay between developers and a non-profit of your choice, has announced that they're giving away free copies of Age of Wonders II. The game, a 4X, turn-based strategy affair, currently stands at a "Mostly Positive" review score on Steam and an 80% aggregate score on Metacritic, was released back in March 31st, 2014.

The game will be available in the Humble Store through May 11, and you now have just 22 hours to redeem it. If you don't have a backlog of games (who doesn't, really), feel free to grab it. If you do have a backlog but don't have Age of Wonders III waiting on it, then you might as well add another sleeper to that heap.

Canada Computers put out details of Ryzen 7 2700X 50th Anniversary Edition, officially known as the Ryzen 7 2700X Gold Edition, a commemorative SKU of the 2700X which has been pictured in our older story. At the time we reported that the new SKU commands a roughly $50 premium over the regular 2700X with a fancy new box design and a facsimile of AMD CEO Lisa Su's signature on the processor's IHS. Turns out, you get a whole lot more.

The Ryzen 7 2700X 50th Anniversary Edition includes not just the processor and a Wraith Prism RGB cooling solution, but also two AAA games: Tom Clancy's "The Division 2" Gold Edition, and "World War Z," a black cotton T-shirt with AMD 50 artwork on both sides, and a special case-badge with another signature of the CEO, besides the Ryzen 7 case-badge. The 2 Free Games offer is being extended to the entire Ryzen 2000 AM4 desktop processor family, and several Radeon GPU models, including Radeon VII, RX 500 series, and RX Vega series. The offer is subject to retailer participation.

Anno 1602 will likely be a blast from the past for some of us, with the game initially launching all the way back in 1998. Now 20 years later, Ubisoft has decided to give the first game in this illustrious franchise away for free on Uplay until December 23rd. This cult classic brings a mix of city building and economy management with a liberal sprinkle of real-time strategy creating a unique title that defined a genre and still scratches that odd nostalgic itch today.

Of course, since the game is being made available on a digital platform, means improved support for modern operating systems including Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10. That said, you will need a Uplay account if you don't have one already and will need to redeem the game on Ubisoft's site. Considering the February release of Anno 1800 is fast approaching, now might be a good time to enjoy a classic while you wait. After all what do you have to lose? It is free.

Epic Games has been pulling a few major moves in the PC gaming market lately, none bigger than creating their own game store and following up with shifting over some of their games from Steam. The company promises a more lucrative profit distribution share to developers (to which Valve had preemptively countered slightly with their own Steam revenue update), and that did help get some game developers and publishers on board, including Supergiant with their new games Hades.

To appease the cautious PC audience thus far, Epic Games has decided to begin with some free games for account holders. As of the time of this post, the excellent aquatic survival game Subnautica is up for grabs. The game was somewhat of a sleeper hit this year, and well worth the free price of admission for anyone interested. The game is available through December 27, after which Epic Games will offer Super Meat Boy for free the following two weeks.

Another month, another free game from Humble Bundle, the company that shows that Christmas is whenever one feels like it. This month's free game is one of those that will put the hurt on your feet should you step on it... LEGO: The Hobbit will be free of charge for users that redeem it from Humble Bundle's page.

This promotion is available from Thursday, December 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific time to Saturday, December 15 at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Don't leave Gandalf waiting, now.

Valve has brought about an update to their eons-old competitive shooter CS:GO. The update brings the game to the modern, post-Fortnite era of multiplayer games, with a new Battle Royale mode named "Danger Zone". The "Danger Zone" Battle Royale mode cuts the number of maximum players to 18, though, which is a far cry from other market offerings - but has designed to mode so that each match lasts at most 10 minutes, which should bring about some escalating tension despite the reduced number of players compared to other Battle Royale game modes. The usual "save the hostages" mechanic has been baked into the mode as a way for players to make money, which they can use to purchase weapons, a la classic CS fashion.

The other move that Valve has made in order to boost popularity of CS:GO has been to make the game free to play, waiving the usual $15 entry fee. It just wasn't justifiable, it seems, to keep such a price on a game released back in 2012 - especially not when compared to the money-making prowess of Fortnite.

The free, one week-long trial for Star Citizen is now live, but something is amiss: users trying to connect to Roberts Space Industries' website in hopes of registering and downloading the game so as to see what all the funding (and fuss) is all about in a more hands-on approach are being met with a 504 Gateway Time-Out error. It seems that the company - or one of its service providers - is failing to provide enough server oomph to sustain all the users trying to get a piece of indiscriminate space flying on their hands. Provided the servers are fully restored before the end of the trial, you can access here to register, and here to download the game's executable.

With AMD's announcement of the new Radeon RX 590 graphics card we've learned something interesting: any user who buys a Radeon RX graphics card or a Radeon RX powered PC will get up to three games for free. "Tom Clancy's The Division 2", "Resident Evil 2" and "Devil May Cry 5", with a retail value of up to $180, will be the titles available for those users.

As mentioned on the press release, "gamers who purchase an AMD Radeon RX Vega or RX 590, or an eligible Radeon RX Vega or RX 590 powered PC, will receive free copies of all three games. Gamers who purchase an AMD Radeon RX 580 or RX 570 graphics card, or an eligible Radeon RX 580 or RX 570 powered PC, can choose two of these games for free".

As an update to the GOG.com 10th anniversary celebrations, it turns out that Shadow Warrior 2 won the public vote to decide which game was to be available not only DRM-free but also monetarily-free. Accordingly, you can now head over to this page and avail yourself of a full copy at no charge for another ~40 hours as of the time of this posting.

Shadow Warrior 2 is a first-person shooter that released a little under two years ago to the day, and now has two free pieces of downloadable content as well (The Way of the Wang, and Bounty Hunt Part 1). It has a very positive rating on Steam, and elsewhere, and costs $39.99 currently. It goes without saying then that if this is a game that interests you, you should definitely pick it up for free on GOG while the offer lasts.

It was less than a month ago that we reported on GOG.com's Back to School game sale event, and today we got wind of an even larger one. Indeed, GOG.com (previously Good Old Games) is 10 today, and decided it was as good a time as any to celebrate the anniversary with us. First up, the entire website has received a visual makeover which offers a new color palette and also some user experience improvements as it pertains to the game collections and menus.

More important to you, I presume, is the free game(s) available via a vote. As of now, visitors can vote between Shadow Warrior 2, Superhot, and Firewatch for another ~36 hours as of this posting following which the winning game will be available for free for the next 48 hours after voting ends. There are also many, many other games on sale on the website now, and GOG.com has also added in support for their media partners to curate a list of recommended games including Eurogamer, PC Gamer, and GameSpot- a move that reminds us of Steam's own Curator system for game recommendations. The page also now includes a history section showing the website's humble beginnings to what is today the leading store front for DRM-free games. Go ahead and see if you find something you like today!

For users who might want to get their hands on DICE's Battlefield 1 (which remains one of the bastions of PC Gaming, both graphically and engine-wise), need only go to Origin's store and grab them while they're cheap. The base Battlefield 1 game has seen a discount down to €4.99 - more than a bargain for the game it is - and the Premium Pass, which includes 16 multiplayer maps, new Operations and game modes, Elite classes and more in four themed digital expansion packs. There's also added replayability with challenging weapon assignments which lead to unlocks ranging from new blades to firearms. Either as a way to whet your appetite for the upcoming Battlefield 5, or just to get some inexpensive quality gaming, head on through the source links.

During its QuakeCon 2018 keynote, Bethesda has announced that Quake Champions is now permanently fixed in a Free to Play model - no more will you have to wait for free-entrance weekends to grab a little time with this game - which is still in Early Access though - don't forget that little tidbit.

Included in the base Free to Play model are Quake Champions Quickplay, Arcade, and Ranked modes, maps, and two Champions (the Ranger and Scalebearer). Bethesda will also keep one extra free Champion on a weekly rotation, but gamers who want to make use of another Champion can purchase access to it through Fervor - earned by completing matches. Of course, if you want to have access to the full Champion package, Bethesda has a promotion going on the Champions Pack, which gives you access to all current and future Champions - usually $40, reduced to $19.79 during QuakeCon, and another sale for $30 until September 4.

EA announced last week its new Origin Access Premier program, which launches today and introduces a new access tier which provides unlimited access to imminent-launch games five days before the official release. This program will cost £14.99/$14.99 a month or £89.99/$99.99 a year. Alongside this launch, EA has decided to axe the freebie On the House initiative - a strange correlation, because these programs hardly interfere with one another.

Users who have already gained access to these freebies will keep them, of course, but attempts to enter the "On the House" page are met with a redirect to the Origin Access webpage. However, users who hadn't grabbed the games will be left in the dust (even if just some metaphorical specks of it, since the games can be easily and quite cheaply had), such as Theme Hospital, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Dragon Age, Mass Effect or Battlefield series. Read on for EA's remarks on this decision.

If you're one of those who enjoyed the Life is Strange narrative experience - and no, you don't need to be a emo, puddle of warmth creature to enjoy it - then you were probably taken by the small trailer that debuted at E3 2018 for The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. Developed by DONTOND, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a prequel for Life is Strange 2, which is under development by the French studio and has an expected release date for Episode 1 set at September 27th.

An original narrative experience set in the Life is Strange universe that contains links to the brand new story & characters of Life is Strange 2, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit will link some choices and actions to your Life is Strange 2 experience. IN this prequel, players assume the role of Chris and his super-hero alter-ego, Captain Spirit, in which they will have to complete a series of missions as Captain Spirit and discover secret unlockable content. Have you ever dreamt of being a superhero? Meet Chris, a creative and imaginative 9 year old boy who escapes reality with fantastical adventures as his alter ego. Specs for the PC release follow.