Prince Jerian launches today on Steam, Sir Brante still free to keep through July 23

The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian, a standalone narrative RPG set in the same universe as the free-to-keep Sir Brante, goes live on Steam today, July 20, and anyone who claimed the free prequel unlocks a launch discount on it. Steam's Train Fest opens at 10am PT, the Super Battle Golf free weekend closes at 10am PT, Planet Crafter (95% positive on Steam) hits Game Pass tomorrow, Tears of Metal joins PC Game Pass Wednesday, and the forward calendar. Every end date checked.

Steam: the sequel launches today, the prequel is still free

The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian, a black-and-white narrative RPG from Schisma Games and 101XP set in the same Blessed Arknian Empire as Sir Brante but following a new protagonist (a crown prince, not a lowborn), launches on Steam today, July 20. It is a paid game, not a freebie, but the tie-in is the deal: anyone who has The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante in their Steam library gets a launch discount on Prince Jerian, per TheGamer.

That matters because Sir Brante is still free to keep. The 2021 narrative RPG (89% positive across 2,717 English Steam reviews, Metacritic 82, Steam Deck Verified) is available at $0.00 through Thursday, July 23 at 10am PT (5pm UTC), confirmed live today by TechTimes and Bleeding Cool. Claim it now and you keep it forever, plus you qualify for the sequel discount. Sir Brante also hits Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 today.

If you missed the first two chapters, GOG has a free sampler of Sir Brante's opening as well.

Steam: Train Fest opens today, free weekend ends this morning

Two Steam events cross paths at 10am Pacific today.

Train Fest opens. Valve's train-game themed sale runs Monday, July 20 at 10am PT through Monday, July 27, per the Steamworks events page. It is a genre spotlight (sims, builders, tycoons), not a seasonal sale, and the deals go live when the fest opens at 10am PT. One confirmed participant: The next train is, a real-time railway dispatch strategy game from overloadGames, is 20% off for the duration alongside a localization update. Browse the Trains category page once the fest is live for the full discount list.

Free weekend ends. The Steam free-to-play weekend for Super Battle Golf (89% positive, 6,500+ reviews, 1-8 player co-op), Empyrion - Galactic Survival (79% positive, 60% off), and MindsEye (53% positive, the divisive 2025 action game) closes today, July 20 at 10am PT (1pm ET / 5pm UTC), per GameRant. These are free to play, not to keep. The sale discounts on Super Battle Golf ($5.59) and Empyrion ($7.99) continue through July 23 if you want to buy after trying.

Epic: Echo Generation and Luto still free, Foretales arrives Thursday

The weekly Epic pair is unchanged. Echo Generation: Midnight Edition (OpenCritic 77 Strong, Cococucumber's 90s-nostalgia turn-based RPG, normally $24.99) and Luto (OpenCritic 77, Metacritic 79, a P.T.-style psychological horror, normally $19.99) are free to keep through Thursday, July 23 at 8am PT, per Polygon and the Epic free games page.

Next up: Foretales ($19.99, a narrative-driven card adventure that has never been free before) goes live solo on Thursday, July 23 at 8am PT through July 30, breaking the roughly three-month streak of two freebies per week, per GameRant.

Two developer-initiated surprise freebies are still live: Together After Dark ($2.99, 4-player co-op horror, Mixed ~56% Steam) is free to keep through Monday, July 27. NoRush! Tower Edition's run ended overnight at 10am UTC (3am PT). KeepUp Survival ended yesterday.

Game Pass: Planet Crafter lands tomorrow, two more this week

The Planet Crafter, Miju Games' chill terraforming survival sim that holds an Overwhelmingly Positive 95% across 66,900+ Steam reviews (Steambase Player Score 96), launches on Xbox Series X|S and Windows Store with Game Pass on Tuesday, July 21, per Xbox Wire. It supports 1-8 player online co-op, Xbox Play Anywhere, and has no combat, only a hostile environment to geo-engineer into a habitable world. This is the solo July 21 drop now that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was pulled from the lineup over licensing.

Wednesday, July 22 brings two day-one Game Pass titles. Shift at Midnight (manage a gas station, restock shelves, and inspect customers for doppelgangers) hits Game Pass on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Tears of Metal, a medieval Scottish hack-and-slash co-op roguelike from Paper Cult Games, enters Early Access on PC Game Pass (and Steam / Microsoft Store) on July 22, per Gematsu and Pure Xbox. The Xbox console version of Tears of Metal comes later in 2026.

Forward calendar and deadlines

Today, July 20: Steam free weekend ends 10am PT. Train Fest opens 10am PT (through July 27). Prince Jerian launches on Steam. Sir Brante hits Switch/Switch 2.
Tomorrow, July 21: The Planet Crafter joins Game Pass (Ultimate, Premium, PC). GTA Online is free for all Xbox Series X|S members (no Game Pass required) through July 21, per Xbox Wire.
Wednesday, July 22: Shift at Midnight (Game Pass) and Tears of Metal (PC Game Pass Early Access).
Thursday, July 23: Sir Brante's free-to-keep run ends 10am PT. Epic's Echo Generation and Luto end 8am PT. Foretales goes free on Epic (solo, through July 30). Prime Gaming's next batch drops (In Sound Mind, Mystic Academy), per Amazon Game Studios.
Monday, July 27: Together After Dark ends on Epic. Train Fest closes.
Wednesday, July 29: The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu's free Lost Explorers' Swords Pack DLC ends 10am PT on Steam (requires the $29.99 base game).
Tuesday, July 28: Halo: Campaign Evolved arrives on Game Pass (Premium Edition owners get early access July 23).
Monday, August 3: PlayStation Plus monthly games (Modern Warfare III, For the King II, CrossCode) remain claimable through today, per the PlayStation Blog.