Steam free weekend runs four games through Monday, led by 94%-positive Necesse

Steam's free weekend puts Necesse, WWE 2K26, Tower Dominion, and Reaper Actual free to play through Monday August 3, Epic reveals Beacon Pines and We Were Here Together as its August 6 pair, the From Poland With Love sale cuts 200+ Polish games up to 90% off, and the WWE 2K26 and Wildgate Xbox free-for-all wraps up tomorrow.

Steam free weekend: four games free to play through Monday August 3

A new Steam free weekend went live July 30 and runs through Monday, August 3 at 10am PT. These are free to play, not keep: you lose access when the timer expires, but each game carries a sale discount if you want to buy. GameRant has the full breakdown.

Necesse (Fair Games, $14.99, 94% Very Positive across 11,957 Steam reviews) is a top-down sandbox survival RPG that blends Terraria-style exploration and combat with Rimworld-style colony management. It graduated from Early Access to 1.0 last October, and reviewers call it one of the best survival-crafting games on PC (NGOHQ 8/10, TrendingNow 7.5/10). Up to 8-player co-op, roughly 20 to 24 hours to see the credits. The 50% off discount ($7.49) runs through August 13, ten days past the free-play window. This is the pick of the bunch.

Tower Dominion (Parallel 45 Games, 86% Very Positive across 2,600+ Steam reviews) is a roguelike tower defense against alien invasion with 30 heroes and multiple modes. About 20 hours of content. 40% off ($10.49) through August 9.

WWE 2K26 (2K/Visual Concepts, $69.99, 54% Mixed across 1,537 Steam reviews) is the same wrestling sim that is also free on Xbox this weekend (see below). The Steam trial requires a 2K Account and a persistent internet connection. 50% off ($34.99) through August 3. Critics liked the gameplay (Metacritic 78) but Steam players rated it Mixed over microtransaction concerns.

Reaper Actual (Distinct Possibility Studios, $19.99, 44% Mixed across 104 reviews) is an open-world extraction looter shooter that launched May 29. The thin, mixed reception makes this the easy skip of the four. 20% off ($15.99) through August 4.

Epic reveals August 6 pair: Beacon Pines and We Were Here Together

Epic officially revealed its next free pair the moment OTXO and Sol Cesto went live on July 30. GameRant confirmed the lineup.

Beacon Pines ($19.99, Metacritic 84 Generally Favorable, OpenCritic 86% Top Critic Average, Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam) is a narrative adventure where you play as both the reader and the protagonist of a mysterious book, rewriting the story to unlock different paths and outcomes. Critics praised its charm, art, and branching mystery (Shacknews 9/10, Nintendo Life 8/10).

We Were Here Together ($12.99, co-op puzzle adventure set in an Antarctic blizzard and the haunted Castle Rock, requires two players with walkie-talkies) is a returning freebie that was already given away on Epic in December 2025. If you claimed it then, there is nothing new here.

Both are free to keep from August 6 through August 13 at 8am PT. Combined value $32.98.

The current pair, OTXO ($14.99, Metacritic 81, top-down Hotline Miami-style roguelite) and Sol Cesto ($13.99, tactical roguelite, Polygon called it "one of 2026's best"), remain free to keep through August 6 at 8am PT. Five days left.

From Poland With Love sale: 200+ Polish games up to 90% off

Steam's From Poland With Love sale, organized by Untold Tales with 40+ Polish developers and publishers, brings 200+ games with discounts reaching 90%. The sale runs through August 3 (gg.deals reports August 10, so some deals may last the full week).

Standout prices verified via the gg.deals listings:

RoboCop: Rogue City is $3.99 (90% off from $39.99). Shadow Warrior 2 is $2.99 (90% off from $29.99). Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales is $3.99 (80% off). Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition is $7.99 (80% off). The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is $9.99. Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition is $11.99 (80% off from $59.99).

That last one is worth flagging: the Reloaded Edition (base game plus the Firearms Update and Bloody Ties DLC) lands free on PS Plus Essential this Tuesday, August 4. So you can grab it on Steam for $12 now or play it free on PlayStation next week.

Xbox Free Play Days: WWE 2K26 and Wildgate end tomorrow

The current Free Play Days round wraps up tomorrow, Sunday August 2 at 11:59pm PT. Two games are free for all Xbox members with no Game Pass required:

WWE 2K26 ($69.99, on sale at $34.99, Metacritic 78 Generally Favorable among critics but user score 3.5 over the Ringside Pass locking roster content behind grind). The free trial coincides with SummerSlam weekend in Minneapolis (August 1 to 2). Also free on Steam through Monday (see above).

Wildgate (Dreamhaven, $29.99, on sale at $23.99, Metacritic 72 Mixed, PvPvE spaceship shooter that reviewers called "Sea of Thieves in space" with strong crew dogfights but shallow solo play).

Polterguys: Possession Party ($4.99, 8-player ghost-possession party brawler, no critic reviews) requires Game Pass Ultimate, Premium, or Essential.

Separately, For Honor (Ubisoft, Metacritic 78) remains free for all Xbox members with no Game Pass through Tuesday August 4.

Forward: PS Plus August lands Tuesday, Cyberpunk Fest opens Monday, Game Pass adds four

Monday August 3 is the last day to claim July's PS Plus Essential trio (Modern Warfare III, For the King II, CrossCode) and the day Steam's Cyberpunk Fest opens for a week of genre discounts through August 10.

Tuesday August 4 is the big convergence: PS Plus August Essential goes live with Dying Light 2 Stay Human Reloaded Edition, the day-one co-op title Big Walk from the Untitled Goose Game devs, and the acclaimed retro horror Signalis (Metacritic 81). Game Pass adds Heretic and Hexen (classic 90s FPS pair) and Beast of Reincarnation (Game Freak's day-one post-apocalyptic action RPG). For Honor's free-for-all ends the same day.

Thursday August 6 brings the Epic swap (OTXO and Sol Cesto out, Beacon Pines and We Were Here Together in) and likely a new Xbox Free Play Days round.

Steam's next free-to-keep titles, Moonlighter and Deponia, are confirmed for August via SteamDB but do not yet have specific dates.