Free games are back in Epic's 2023 Holiday Sale, live now

Epic Games Store 2023 Holiday Sale - games for sale — (Image credit: Epic Games)

The Epic Games Store has kicked off its 2023 Holiday Sale, and once again the free games are back—17 of them in all, beginning today with Destiny 2: Legacy Collection, a bundle of the Witch Queen, Beyond Light, and Shadowkeep expansions for Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 is free as a normal thing, by the way, so it's a whole lot of Destiny for a whole lot of nothing.

The freebies are always the big attraction in the Epic Store's Holiday Sale, but Epic is also bringing back its reusable coupons, and as it did in the previous Black Friday sale, the discount amount is being bumped to 33% off eligible purchases—that means games, but not DLC, in-game items, or currency. Everyone gets the coupon automatically, and it automatically renews each time it's used, effectively making it a standing 33% discount.

Epic's sales typically don't cut as deep as those offered by Steam or GOG sales, but that coupon applies to both regular and discounted prices, which can make some games cheaper than they are on other storefronts even if the up-front sale price is higher than it is elsewhere. In the Black Friday sale, for instance, Payday 3 wasn't on sale on the Epic Store, but the coupon actually made it cheaper than what it was going for at the time (20% off) in Steam's Autumn Sale. Bottom line, it's worth double-checking to ensure you're getting the best deal on whatever you're shopping for.

The return on the "Epic Rewards" program is also being increased for the duration of the sale. Normally, when you purchase a game from the Epic Store you get 5% back in the form of a credit that can be used for future game purchases, but for the Holiday Sale that's being boosted to 10%. So, buy a $60 game, you'll get a $6 credit you can put toward your next purchase. Rewards are granted 14 days after purchase and are cumulative, so you can let 'em pile up if you're saving for something big—but do note that they expire after 25 months, so be sure to use them before that happens.

And finally, anyone who purchases Alan Wake 2 during the Holiday Sale will get a voucher for a free copy of Alan Wake Remastered, which normally goes for $30. Alan Wake 2, by the way, is 20% off its regular $50 price in the sale, and with another 33% taken off of that with the Epic coupon, that drops the price to just $27—that's an awfully good price for one of the best games of 2023, especially with the original Alan Wake (in remastered form) bundled with it.

The Epic Game Store's Holiday Sale is live now and runs until January 10.

Correction: The story originally indicated that Epic's Holiday Sale would be giving away daily freebies. Epic has since clarified that they are not daily: There will be 17 games given away between December 13 and the end of the sale on January 10.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.