Metal Gear Solid is free on Steam this weekend through July 27

Six games including the original Metal Gear Solid are free to play on Steam through July 27, Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is free to keep through July 30, Epic reveals OTXO and Sol Cesto as its next free pair on July 30, Conker: Live and Reloaded joins Game Pass, and eight games including Celeste and Crusader Kings 3 leave Game Pass July 31. Every end date checked.

Steam: Metal Gear Solid leads a six-game free weekend through July 27

Steam's latest free weekend went live July 23 and runs through Monday, July 27 at 10am PT (12pm CT). These are free to play, not keep, though each carries a sale discount if you want to buy:

• Metal Gear Solid, Master Collection Version (Konami, 83% Very Positive across 2,600 Steam reviews, $19.99, 50% off to $9.99). The 1998 stealth classic plus VR Missions and the Integral expansion, roughly 12 hours, genuinely beatable before the weekend closes. Also free on Xbox Free Play Days through July 27. Konami is timing this to build hype for Master Collection Volume 2 next month, which finally brings Metal Gear Solid 4 to PC after 18 years of PS3 exclusivity.
• Unrailed 2: Back on Track (Indoor Astronaut, 88% Very Positive, $19.99, 40% off to $11.99). Chaotic co-op train-building, and it overlaps with the ongoing Steam Train Fest.
• Icarus (RocketWerkz, 76% Mostly Positive across 30,000+ reviews, $34.99, 80% off to $6.99). Session-based survival for up to 8 players from the creator of DayZ. The 80% off discount runs through July 30, past the free weekend.
• Firefighting Simulator: Ignite (Weltenbauer, 80% Very Positive, $34.99, 40% off to $20.99). Four-player co-op firefighting in Unreal Engine 5. Also on PS Plus Extra. Leaves the free weekend early: Sunday, July 26 at 1pm PT (3pm CT).
• Killing Floor 3 (Tripwire, Mixed, 48% positive across 8,400 reviews, $39.99, 50% off to $19.99). Co-op horror shooter, reception is rough.
• Wild Assault (Combat Cat Studio, Mixed, 68% positive, $14.99, 55% off to $6.74). Anthro-themed tactical hero shooter, thin consensus.

The honest pick: Metal Gear Solid is the reason to jump in. It is a universally regarded classic, short enough to finish for free, and $9.99 to keep is a solid price. Unrailed 2 is the strongest co-op option. Skip Killing Floor 3 and Wild Assault unless the genre is your thing, their Steam reception is Mixed.

Steam: Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is free to keep through July 30

Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is free to keep through Thursday, July 30 at 10am PT (5pm UTC), down from $3.99. It is a 2017 top-down zombie tower-defense shooter with up to four-player online co-op, Very Positive at 82% across roughly 540 reviews, and Steam Deck Playable (not Verified). The giveaway celebrates the release-date announcement for its sequel, Yet Another Zombie Survivors, which hits 1.0 on August 20.

This is the free-to-keep promo that was tracked as "coming in July" back on July 8 alongside Sir Brante. Sir Brante went live solo on July 17 and this one followed on July 23. It is a small, simple game, not a headline grabber, but it is yours forever if you claim it in time.

Epic: Foretales still free, OTXO and Sol Cesto revealed for July 30

Foretales ($19.99, Metacritic 74, Steam Very Positive at 86%) remains free to keep on the Epic Games Store through Thursday, July 30 at 8am PT, solo as covered yesterday.

Epic also revealed its next pair the moment Foretales went live: OTXO and Sol Cesto, free July 30 through August 6 at 8am PT. Neither has been free on Epic before. OTXO is a 2023 top-down action roguelite with a Hotline Miami feel, black-and-white gore, and a bullet-time mechanic, sitting at OpenCritic 73. Sol Cesto is a tactical roguelite from a French indie trio that left Early Access in April 2026, built around a four-by-four grid where you pick a row and land on a random tile that might be a fight, a trap, or a prize. Both are roguelites, so the pairing is genre-coherent if stylistically different.

Game Pass: Conker joins, eight games leave July 31

Conker: Live and Reloaded was a surprise Game Pass addition on July 23, landing across console, PC, and cloud on every tier (Ultimate, Premium, Essential, PC). It has never been on Game Pass before. It is a spruced-up version of Conker's Bad Fur Day with improved visuals and a controversial amount of censoring, plus a team-based multiplayer shooter mode. Pure Xbox flagged it as part of Xbox's new backward-compatibility-for-PC push, which also added Fuzion Frenzy, Crimson Skies, and Blinx: The Time Sweeper to PC Game Pass.

On the way out, eight games leave Game Pass on Friday, July 31: Celeste (Metacritic 92, one of the most acclaimed indie platformers ever), Crusader Kings 3, Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord, Rain World, Sniper Elite: Resistance, Back to the Dawn, My Friendly Neighborhood, and Whiskerwood (PC). All carry at least 20% off discounts until they depart. If Celeste or Rain World has been on your list, this is the last free window.

Forward calendar

• Steam Train Fest closes Monday, July 27 (verified historic lows: Loco Motive $11.24, Transport Fever 2 $10.79, Overcrowd $3.99, Last Train Home $9.74).
• Together After Dark (Epic, $2.99, Mixed) ends free-to-keep Monday, July 27.
• Mound DLC (Lost Explorers' Swords Pack, $4.99 cosmetic, requires base game) free-to-keep through Wednesday, July 29.
• Halo: Campaign Evolved joins Game Pass Tuesday, July 28 (Ultimate, PC), a full remake of the original Halo: Combat Evolved campaign with three new missions and 4-player co-op, no multiplayer.
• PS Plus Extra/Premium second wave July 28: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Rita's Rewind, Dying Light, Citizen Sleeper 2, Snow Bros. Wonderland.
• Zenless Zone Zero joins PC Game Pass July 29 (all tiers).
• Mistfall Hunter day-one on Game Pass July 30. Prime Gaming final batch July 30: Zoria: Age of Shattering and Weakless (both GOG, keep forever).
• Corsair Cove (PC Game Pass) July 31. Beast of Reincarnation (Game Freak, day-one) and Heretic and Hexen join Game Pass August 4.
• PS Plus Essential (Modern Warfare III, For the King II, CrossCode) claimable through Monday, August 3. Steam Cyberpunk Fest August 3 to 10.