July 10, 2026

Palworld 1.0 is free on Game Pass today, Xbox opens a free-play weekend, and Epic reveals its next pair

The early-access survival hit goes 1.0 on Game Pass day one, three Xbox games are free through Sunday, and Epic just named the pair coming July 16.

Palworld exits early access today. Version 1.0, the full release Pocketpair has spent two-plus years building toward, is live now on Xbox Game Pass (Ultimate, Premium, and PC), Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox. If you already own it anywhere, 1.0 lands as a free update. If you have Game Pass, the entire $29.99 game is included with your subscription. The update opens the World Tree region that has been teased on the horizon since day one, plus new Pals, sky islands, and bigger multiplayer servers. Pocketpair held the price at $29.99 rather than raising it for launch.

Is it good? The early-access critic average sat at a middling OpenCritic 71, but the 1.0 reception is the real story. Steam reviews are running 96% positive on the new version, and GamesRadar reports the biggest Steam player spike since the record-breaking original launch. Full 1.0 critic scores are still coming in. Xbox Wire confirmed the day-one Game Pass drop back on July 7.

Xbox Free Play Days: three games free through Sunday, July 12

A new Free Play Days round landed on Xbox Wire yesterday, just after the last issue went out. Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, and Essential members can play three games at no extra cost from Thursday, July 9 through Sunday, July 12, with purchase discounts if you want to keep them:

• MLB The Show 26, 50% off (down from $69.99 to $34.99). The long-running baseball sim with a revamped Road to the Show this year.
• The Alters, 50% off (down from $34.99 to $17.49). 11 bit studios' survival game about cloning alternate versions of yourself on a hostile planet. It is already in the Game Pass library, so the trial mainly matters to Essential members and the discount is the draw for everyone else.
• Stuffed, free trial (normally $12.49). A four-player co-op teddy-bear first-person shooter defending a kid from her nightmares.

Progress and achievements carry over if you buy. The deadline is end of day Sunday, July 12.

Epic Games Store: claim the current pair, and meet the next one

The current giveaway is unchanged from yesterday's issue. Nova Lands ($19.99) and Tattoo Tycoon ($29.99) are free to keep through Thursday, July 16 at 8am PT / 11am ET (Epic). Nova Lands is the better grab, a Factorio-ish base-building sim at OpenCritic 80. Tattoo Tycoon lands at a Mixed 6/10 with a 62% Steam rating, so grab it only if the premise appeals.

What is new is the next pair, now listed on Epic's free-games page as "coming soon." On July 16 the store swaps to Echo Generation: Midnight Edition and Luto, free through July 23. Echo Generation is a turn-based RPG soaked in 90s nostalgia, Metacritic 70 across a thin four critic reviews. Luto is a P.T.-style psychological horror walk-through and the stronger of the two, at OpenCritic 78 (83rd percentile). Both are worth a calendar reminder for next Thursday.

Game Pass: what lands next week, and what leaves July 15

After Palworld, the Game Pass calendar keeps moving. Ascend to Zero arrives day one on July 13 (a time-bending action roguelike, Ultimate and PC tiers), and PBA Pro Bowling 2026 follows on July 14. The date to watch is July 15, when ten games leave the service: PowerWash Simulator, Stellaris, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, EA Sports FC 24, Golf With Your Friends, and more. Play or buy-with-discount anything you are mid-way through before Tuesday.

Tracking: the rest of the beat

• Prime Gaming: Still There and Regular Factory: Escape Room are claimable now on GOG (Amazon). The next batch drops July 16 (Poly Vita, Framed Collection, and Escape Academy on the Epic store).
• PlayStation Plus: Modern Warfare III, For the King II, and CrossCode remain the July monthly games through August 3 (PlayStation Blog). No change this week.
• Steam free-to-keep: The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante and Yet Another Zombie Defense HD are still queued for July with no confirmed start date. Watch the store page, not the rumor mills.
• Steam sales: The Summer Sale closed July 9. Next up is the Social Deduction Fest, July 13 to 16. There is no major seasonal sale until the Autumn Sale on October 1 (Steamworks). Deal pickings stay thin until then.

Want the next one?

Every new Free Games & Deals Daily issue by email. One tap to unsubscribe.